


Odd Coincidences

by guiltycake



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural (TV) Fusion, Character deaths ahead, Demons, Eren is clueless virgin, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Ghosts, Gore, Grisha is not an asshole, Hurt/Comfort, Levi's colorful tongue, M/M, Multi, Probably I don't know yet, Slow Build, Violence, You will understand later, eren is such a dork, eren is unsure about everything, gentle!levi, hopefully, jean is a noob, riren - Freeform, shameless fluff, so much badass, will be more pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-04 13:40:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 42,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3070280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guiltycake/pseuds/guiltycake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meet Eren Jaeger. He’s a hunter. Not just any kind of hunter. He hunts ghosts, demons, vampires, you name it. It’s a family business, or used to be. He is 22 years old and currently searching for a demon that killed his mother. So far not many leads, but Eren feels better every time he sends the poor souls towards the hell or the heaven, or somewhere. Eren isn’t exactly sure where they go. How long has he been hunting? Ten years. Eren was twelve when his mother was killed and he started hunting with his father. Grisha, his father, disappeared five years ago and left Eren all alone. What happens when Eren crosses roads with mysterious hunter named Levi Ackerman? </p><p> </p><p>HEAVILY BASED ON SUPERNATURAL SERIES. With gay twist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> First things first. I'm not native english speaker and I do not have a beta. Sorry if there are mistakes. Point them out and I will fix them. It has been a while since I'm written anything... Ehehehe.  
> Secondly, since this is heavily based on Supernatural Series, you will see a lot of similarities. I do need some back up from the series. After the first chapter, I will focus on my own imagination but the first chapter needed some back up. I'm also bad at writing action scenes. T__T  
> I don't know how long this series will be but I'm slow at updating. If you see one chapter a week, that is a lot. I'll try to update/upload frequently. c: 
> 
> Enjoy!

**Virginia, Richmond, 28 th of June, 2011**

Eren flopped down on his bed with a newspaper in his hands. The bed was squeaking under his weight. “The mutilated body was found near the victim’s car, parked on 9 Mile Road,” he read out loud, ocean green eyes scanning the paper lazily. He hummed in thought. “Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted as saying the attacker was invisible. What does it sound like to you, Armin?” Eren asked, phone on the speaker, “It could be something.”

He heard a quiet chuckle through the phone. “You could check it out. I mean, you are at Virginia now, right? Then again, it’s normal to freak out if someone is killed right before your eyes – and not see anything,” Armin explained, “I haven’t assigned you anything else right at this moment. It’s been unusually quiet.”

This is Eren Jaeger. He’s a hunter. Not just any kind of hunter. He hunts ghosts, demons, vampires, you name it. It’s a family business, or used to be. He is 22 years old and currently searching for a demon that killed his mother. So far not many leads, but Eren feels better every time he sends the poor souls towards the hell or the heaven, or somewhere. Eren isn’t exactly sure where they go. How long has he been hunting? Ten years. Eren was twelve when his mother was killed and he started hunting with his father. Grisha, his father, disappeared five years ago and left Eren all alone. Then he met Armin Arlert, who is currently assigning all potential hunts for him. He is the library of paranormal activity and Eren’s best friend. Not much help in combat, but knows what to do if he is ever required to use any firearms.

Through Armin, Eren met more hunters. Occasionally he travels with Jean Kirschtein. He has been in the business for two years and Eren teams up with him if he happens to be close and Jean needs a helping hand. Eren can tolerate him but he prefers to hunt alone. In few words, Jean is a noob and Eren doesn’t want to take care of his whiny ass. Then there is Sasha Braus. She hunts with Connie Springer. Those two are inseparable. Eren met them around same time as he met Armin. They happened to be on a same lead. After the case was over, Eren remembers vaguely Sasha emptying my fridge and then running away with Connie. He avoids getting into same lead as them, hopefully you understand why.

“It feels like something big is coming, right?” Eren sighed quietly, getting up from the bed and started pacing around the motel he was currently staying at. It was already nightfall, so Eren would get to bed and check on this tomorrow. “Anyways, I will go to the victim’s house tomorrow so if you got anything regarding this article or victim, can you mail it to me ASAP?”

He could’ve almost heard Armin nodding furiously. “Yeah, sure thing. Good night, Eren. Remember to lock your door,” he said and hanged up after that. Eren groaned quietly and double-checked that the door was truly locked. Good. Eren took off his coat and placed it on a small table next to a window. It’s well-known that he usually preferred to hunt alone so Armin was most likely already informing others to stay away from Virginia unless they are doing something else, rather than going after this one. After plopping down on the small bed, Eren let his eyes fall shut and sleep take over his mind.

 

**The Fraternity, 29 th of June, 2011**

Eren parked his car in front of a fraternity and tilted his head slightly to side. The fraternity had two stories and it almost reminded him of his home. The house itself seemed to be old, painted white. His eyes scanned around the area quickly and Eren got up from the car rather awkwardly. Great. He walked forward, finding a group of young men chilling on the front yard. “Uhm, excuse me?” He asked awkwardly from a guy who was wearing stupid, yellow sunglasses and pink shorts. Something about this freshman reminded Eren from Jean. Oh yeah, Jean had pink shorts when he and Armin had saved his ass from a vengeful spirit. He suppressed a sigh. Eren really didn’t know how these fraternities worked out for one reason. Experience? Nope. Eren barely even went to school after he got into this so called family business.  In this case, Jean fucking Kirschtein knew how to deal with these kinds of situations.

“Who are you?” the boy in shorts asked in slightly rude tone, but Eren dismissed it quickly. For now, he decided stick to the plan even though he had no idea how fraternities worked. Eren took a sheepish approach and scratched the back of his neck. “I am Eren, from Kentucky’s fraternity. I just came to the town and I don’t exactly have a place to stay right now… So I guess… your new roommate?” he answered with a quiet chuckle.

“Riiiight,” the guy drawled but shook Eren’s hand anyways, “I’m Derek,” he introduced himself and motioned Eren to follow him inside. After he turned his back to Eren, Eren let out a quiet breath. Eren had always been a terrible liar and this time was no exception. He followed Derek, making sure he saw every single detail while being in there. There wasn’t necessarily anything here but Eren reminded to be better safe than sorry. While walking, Eren coughed quietly. “So, uhm, Derek?” he asked, in a need to get his attention. Derek tilted his head towards him. “Is it true that someone was actually killed last week? A guy from this fraternity, I mean.”

Derek shot Eren a hard look that soon turned into sadness. “Yeah… I just heard that some psycho killed him with a knife. Maybe some foreigner passing through, I don’t know. Danny was such a good guy,” he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “And he even scored with Diana: such a shame, really.”

“Scored with Diana?” Eren asked quietly, trying to rack his brain through what he had told. “So he was together with this Diana. Who is Diana?”

“Are you from F.B.I or something?” Derek joked, opening a door in front of us. “This is your room. Diana is a freshman. Sexy as hell too. But you know what, her father is a priest. Kind of hard to score with her, if you know what I mean,” Derek said and winked his eye. Eren smiled dumbly, nodding furiously. Yeah, of course he knew.

No, he didn’t know. “Yeah, I understand. What a pain,” Eren laughed with slightly awkward tone. That’s it; He really needed to understand sex and relationships better. Jean kept saying the same thing all the time: 22 and virgin was not very laughable, but Eren didn’t have time to understand things like that. His hands weren’t exactly full of dicks and boobs, unlike Jean’s. “You wouldn’t happen to know which church?”

 

**St. Barnabas Church, 1:21PM**

Eren stood in front of a church that was actually kind of pretty. The white décor was always something that caught Eren’s eyes. If he wasn’t in this line of work he would probably be an architect. Maybe. But to be honest, Eren hated churches and everything that had to do with God. He didn’t believe that God existed. There was only the Devil; he was pretty sure about that. If God really did exist, he wouldn’t let all this happen in here, would he? Eren took another deep breath when he entered the church. If there is one thing he appreciated in this place, it would be the quiet and relaxed atmosphere. He let his eyes wander around the space, red carpet, candles, until they landed on a girl sitting on a pew, near the altar. The brunette decided to sit on the other side of it. The girl had golden blonde hair, Eren noted. She also seemed to be more on the taller side, probably taller than Eren.

“It’s tragic, really,” the girl spoke suddenly and Eren looked towards her in surprise. He certainly didn’t expect her to start conversation with a stranger. “The man who died, I mean. He was a good man, a good boyfriend. But I believe that God has a plan for everything.”

“Are you Diana?” Eren asked, turning his eyes away from her. Eren wouldn’t know. What was the definition of hot anyways? He almost shook his head. _Focus Eren, focus_. Eren let his thoughts wander way too often and by the time he realized, he would have already been thrown off the ride. “Sorry if I seem intruding, I’m just curious. I read about this from the newspaper. My name is Eren and I just transferred from another university. I’m just sorry for your loss; I really know what you’re going through.”

 “Yeah, I am,” she smiled and turned her head towards him. She sighed quietly. “The police don’t know anything, really. They even blamed me for it,” Diana told with hurt lacing her voice. “I would never murder my own boyfriend even if he did come on to me too strong.”

Eren turned his head quickly back towards Diana. She was talkative one. It made Eren’s job so much easier. “What do you mean that they blame you?” he asked curiously. Eren was not entirely sure if there was anything fishy in this case but as Armin said, it was worth looking into. When Diana spoke again, Eren turned his whole attention to her.

“My statement. I was so scared that I think I was just seeing things.”

“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t real,” Eren said back, staring at her eyes that had a pink hue to them. Could be more like violet, Eren decided.

Diana chuckled quietly. “I heard scratching… from the roof. We were inside a car… you know. I just can’t bring guys to my house. And suddenly… I don’t even know what happened; it all went by so quickly. The bloody body of Danny was hanging upside down over our car. Freaky, right?”

“Why didn’t you just drive away?” Eren continued prying into what happened.

“Well the tires were pretty much wrecked; it would’ve been dangerous to just drive off.”

Eren nodded, trying to understand what he would be dealing with if this really was something. Eren took a peek at his wristwatch in a way that Diana could see it and he stood up. “Sounds believable to me,” Eren started with a slight sigh, “Sorry but I need to go. I’m really sorry for your loss. I hope that you will find someone who can make you feel better about all this.”

Diana smiled at me gently. “God bless you, Eren.”

 

**The Library, 4:30PM**

“Could be the Hook Man.”

“Armin, that’s ridiculous. It’s just a legend,” Eren murmured quietly into the phone, thanking a librarian who brought him all the arrest records from 1851 to this day. He opened up one of the boxes curiously, taking contents out. “Man, this is going to take forever.”

“Scratching, broken tires and invisible killer? Sounds a lot like Hook Man to me. Then again, it might just be a spirit,” Armin said from the other side.

Eren sighed, rubbing his sensitive eyes as dust attacked them. “I’m looking into it, alright. I’ll call when I find something,” he punched the ‘end call’ and got into the records. Even the librarian glanced at him weirdly. Maybe it isn’t every day someone asked for these kinds of records. Eren flexed his back. “Here we go…”

 

**Few hours later**

“Hey brat, get up. Don’t sleep over all this shitty stuff. It’s gross.”

Eren opened up his heavy eyelids at the unknown voice. Only thing he was able to see was flash of dark hair and a sour look. He jerked up when the person pulled his ear. “I am awake, damn it!” Eren snapped at the man, who only stared at him with unreadable face. Eren’s glare definitely softened when this stranger gave him even harder glare and disappeared from Eren’s personal space. “What was his problem?” Eren muttered quietly, glancing at the mess of papers on the desk in front of him. Eren’s eyes landed on a single sheet of paper and he started to read it. In the paper it said that a preacher, James Dawkins, was arrested from murder in 1862. Apparently the man was so angry over the Red Light District in town that he killed 16 prostitutes in one go. Some of the women were found in in the middle of bloody sheets and some of them were suspended upside down from the limbs of trees as a warning against sins of the flesh.

Eren licked his lips, trying to comprehend what he had just read. The murder weapon was a silver hook, surprisingly enough. Maybe Armin was right after all. And all of this happened in 9 Mile Road. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Eren muttered quietly, pocketing the paper sheet quickly, along with other documents that might prove to be necessary for the research.

Eren left the library and dialed Armin’s number. “You’re right. The Hook Man is most likely here. I’m going to the scene.”

“Hey wait, are you sure you don’t want back-up? Isn’t it dark already?” Armin sputtered suddenly.

“Very positive,” Eren mumbled, starting up his read and pretty beaten old car. He ended the call and threw the small object onto the passenger’s seat. After driving for a while, Eren found himself in the middle of nowhere, near a bridge. _Alright, get up from the car, Eren._ Eren looked around suspiciously and opened the door. He circled around his car and took a rifle from the trunk, loading it with rock salt. He took another deep breath. Rock salt wouldn’t destroy the spirit but at least it would slow the guy down. It was already dark and his flashlight was pretty much useless since it ran out of batteries on the last trip. Eren just forgot these little things. He closed the trunk quietly and strolled towards the trees. He didn’t see anything out of place and the only thing he could hear was water lapping against stones. The moon was the only thing that gave Eren a sense of security. And a little bit of light, of course. Eren decided that he should stock up batteries. _It would make my life so much easier_.

Suddenly Eren aimed the gun towards trees. He was sure that he heard rustling and a twig snapping. Eren could see faint movement in the shadows. He didn’t dare to move and he wasn’t sure if he was breathing either.

“GET ON YOUR KNEES AND PUT THE GUN DOWN NOW!”

 _Oh hot damn_. Eren quickly got on his knees and put the gun away from him slowly. _You’ve got to be kidding me_.  A sheriff emerged from the forest. She or he, Eren wasn’t sure, pointed a gun at his direction, looking more spooked than Eren was. Didn’t they have anything better to do than watch the bridge? Eren shrugged his shoulders mentally; maybe Eren was wrong this time. _Back up? Hell yes, please_.

“Let’s get to the station, kid,” the sheriff said with a million dollar grin on their face. Yup, this is the worst evening in a while.

 

**The Police Station, Interrogation Room, 5:12AM**

Trip to the station was quick, okay. Eren didn’t expect it to go by so quickly that he didn’t have time to figure out a good excuse why he was carrying a rifle, at the murder scene. So he ended up telling the truth. That wasn’t the brightest plan he had planned. Eren slammed his head into the interrogation table. He had been there for hours and nothing had happened. The sheriff, who was a woman actually and named something like ‘Ilse’ was here. Was. Eren doesn’t know where she was now. She just came to interrogate him for something Eren didn’t do. 

 

_“Why were you carrying a loaded gun at the crime scene?”_

_Eren sighed involuntarily. He had told this already. “It was loaded with ROCK SALT. Since when rock salt turned into a murder weapon?” He murmured quietly at her furious face. Eren drummed his fingers against the table. This was ridiculous. “Can I call someone?”_

_“No you can’t,” Ilse slammed her hands on the table. “What were you going to do with rock salt? What were you doing there anyways!? It was an illegal gun!”_

_“I told you already! I was hunting ghosts!”_

_“BULLSH-“_

_“Sheriff, there is someone who wants to talk with you,” the interrogation room’s door opened and revealed an older man. “It’s about the case.”_

 

And that was the last time Eren saw her. And that was hours ago. He had been here the whole freaking night. Eren glanced towards the door and glared at the woman who came through the door. Finally.

Ilse sat down.  Shee seemed to be calmer now. That’s a good sign. “Alright. It seems like you have been accused for no reason at all. I’m terribly sorry that this happened. The case is making us a nervous wreck. You might want to tell your friend off for doing such a ridiculous prank.”

Eren blinked sheepishly. What? Friend? Was Jean here? No, Jean is supposed to be in Indiana. Eren laughed awkwardly. It can’t be Armin either, Armin didn’t know. This was so lucky, but Eren was pretty much creeping out right now. Connie and Sasha? No, Armin told everyone to stay away from Virginia. “Re-really? A prank?” Eren sputtered.

Ilse smiled sweetly and opened the door for me. “You’re free to go. The prank was really a bit overboard, but I understand. Kids are kids after all. Just don’t get pranked again, okay? I don’t want to see you in trouble again.”

Eren walked out in a daze. He walked until he was out of the police station. Eren stared at the red car in the parking lot. _What is my car doing here?_ Eren lifts his hand to feel his forehead. It’s probably the summer heat. No, but it was just morning. Did he drive here? No way. Oh yeah, it had been probably towed here. _My bad._ Eren opens the door and sits accidentally on the passenger’s seat. “The fuck is wrong with me?” Eren cursed and changed to driver’s seat. He didn’t sleep while being in that godforsaken room. He looked at the time, 6:50AM. 30 th of June. Maybe Eren should take a nap before getting back to the case. Right, he needed to call Armin about this. As Eren was dialing his number, he saw police cars speeding away from the station. Now that was interesting. Eren left the phone alone and decided to follow the cars in slow pace. _Keep it calm now, Eren. I can solve later who helped me out from that station._

 

**The Sorority, 30 th of June, 7:15AM**

Eren slowly drove through the newest crime scene. It was the sorority where Diana stayed. Eren saw Diana sitting on the back of an ambulance, wrapped in blankets. After looking the outside thoroughly he left his car two blocks away from the scene. He walked back, around the sorority, making sure no one could see him. Eren stifled a small laugh that was about to escape from his lips. If someone caught him, Eren would be back at the station ASAP. Soon all Eren could think right now was why the Hook man would come all the way from the 9 Mile Road to this sorority.

Eren hid himself behind a bush when two officers walked by him. His heart almost jumped out of his chest. “Calm down, Jaeger,” Eren whispered. Jesus Christ. Eren turned towards a window behind him and climbed through it as quietly as he could. Conveniently, he found himself in a walk-in-closet. Eren carefully cracked the door open a little so that he could peek through the gap. At least he was in the right room, or so he thought. The amount of blood in the bed and yellow tape around it was a pretty obvious clue. After Eren was sure no one was inside, he came out of the closet quietly. He looked around the room, only to stop his at the text written on a wall. Eren furrowed his eyebrows. Nope, it was definitely carved with a bloody hook.

**‘Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the lights?’**

That was classical Hook Man. Very classical, straight from the book. Eren scanned the text, only to land his eyes on a weird looking symbol below it. It was some kind of cross and Eren took a picture of it with his phone, before retreating to the closet. He sent the picture to Armin, asking him to confirm whether he was right or not. Eren fumbled around his pockets and took out the paper he was reading at the library. “I knew it,” Eren mumbled when he located the small cross. It was the same symbol that hung on the Hook Man’s hook.

 

**The Motel Room, 2:25PM**

“I swear to god Eren, I don’t know anyone who would’ve gotten you out from the police station,” Eren heard a tired sigh from the phone. Armin swore that he went through his laptop many times but no one had even passed through Virginia last night. “Maybe it was someone of the freshmen from that fraternity?”

“But that would require knowledge on ghosts and everything regarding that,” Eren said as he scanned over his research material, “okay, whoever it was, thank god. So, are we on the same page on this case?”

“Well it would seem like the symbol is the same. I think it is the spirit of James Dawkins.”

“Okay so, easy. I just have to find the grave, salt it and burn the bones,” Eren shrugged his shoulder, sipping his coffee. He had taken his so much needed sleep and now he was ready for these kinds of challenges. God bless him if he had fainted while digging out a grave. Jean passed out on his first time, which was pretty hilarious. He scanned his research material again. “Wait. After execution, James Dawkins was laid to rest in an Old North Cemetery. In an unmarked grave.”

“Super,” Armin murmured from his laptop. “But this is pretty weird.So we know it is James Dawkins. But we still don’t know where he’ll appear next or why.”

Eren huffed. “I’ll take a wild guess about why. I’ll call you later,” he said and ended the call. Eren downed his coffee, took his car keys and disappeared from the motel.

 

**St. Barnabas Church, Diana’s house, 8:30PM**

Eren had situated himself near Diana’s and her father’s home. He had terribly awesome conversation with Jean a while back and now Eren was prepared. Mostly. He wished he had Jean here to dig up the grave though. Job would be easier because who knows, Diana might be the next victim. This is why Eren was situated near their house.

 

_“I think I came up with something,” Eren murmured to himself. He was known to talking to himself. Or talking inside his mind. Either way, it helped Eren to concentrate. Only this time, Jean was listening on the other side of the phone._

_Eren heard a sigh from the other side. “You know Eren, Armin is the one you should talk to about this kind of stuff.”_

_“Yes, but you need to be educated so shut up, horse face,” Eren muttered and went through his homework of sorts. “There’s a pattern here. In both cases, the suspect was a man of religion who openly preached against immorality._ _And then found himself wanted for killings he claimed were the work of an invisible force. Killings were carried out with a sharp instrument.”_

_“So what is the pattern? I’m not following here. And the connection to this... little princess Diana?”_

_“Are you an idiot? A man of religion? Who openly preaches against immorality?”_

_“Oh, you mean the reverend. Diana is his daughter, right? I’m following now. I get it. You think he is summoning the spirit?”_

_Eren sighed. How Jean was still alive was beyond him. “Maybe. Or, you know how a poltergeist can haunt a person instead of a place?_

_He could hear Jean nodding like this was some kind of lesson. Well, it kind of was. Jean was still learning after all. “Yeah, the spirit latches onto the person’s repressed emotions, feeds off them without the victim even knowing it, yeah, I guess I know. Are you done? Just go find the grave and let me sleep okay? Happy hunting, bye.”_

_Eren glared the phone in his hand. Jean never took him seriously. This could save his life someday. Maybe. Happy hunting, my ass._

 

Eren could see right through their window. Diana was arguing with his father, at least it looked like it. His father was old, balding man who had a little bit weight on him. Eren checked his duffle bag, making sure he had everything he needed in case something went horribly wrong.

After a while the lights were turned off and Eren sat down on an average sized rock. Maybe now would be a good time to get to the grave. He would’ve done it already but finding a nameless grave wasn’t exactly an easy job and it could take the whole night, which would endanger Diana.

“I saw you from upstairs. What are you doing here?”

“Holy shit,” Eren jumped around to see Diana walking towards her. He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t even heard her footsteps. Eren was spooked easily, that was true. Why he chose this line of work was beyond him. Not that Eren had much of a choice back then. “I… uhm… Keeping an eye on the place?”

Diana stared Eren skeptically.

“I was worried,” Eren stuttered, not really knowing how to convince a woman who was doubting his reasons.

“About me?”

“Uh. Yeah. Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s cool,” Diana chuckled and sat next to Eren since there was space left on the rock. “I already called the cops.”

Eren stared at Diana for a while, until he laughed. Oh, she was just joking. That was a good sign? Probably since Diana laughed too. They were cool for now, no problem. “No but seriously, I think you’re sweet. Which is why you shouldn’t probably stay near me,” Diana said with a slight blush on her cheeks, smile faltering away.

 _Me? Sweet?_ Eren blushed and waved his hand in dismissal. “Why would you say something like that?” he asked when Diana said that Eren shouldn’t be near her. He was puzzled. Diana was sort of cute but everyone was a little bit of cute. Eren tried to focus again. Hell, even the guy at the library was kind of cute. Irritating but cute.

“It’s like I’m cursed or something. People around me keep dying.”

Eren casted his eyes somewhere else, not really knowing what to say. That was, pretty much the truth. And everyone already knew that Eren was a bad liar.

Diana takes a shaky breath. “No one will talk to me anymore. Except you. The sheriff thinks I’m a suspect. And you know what my dad says? Pray. Have faith. What does he know about faith? “

“Were you guys fighting before?” Eren asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “Isn’t your dad the reverend?” he kept asking. Of course he would know about faith and religion.

“He’s seeing a woman. A married woman. I just found out. She comes to our church with her husband. I know her kids. And he talks to me about religion? About morality? It’s like, on one hand, you know, just do what you want and be happy. But he taught me, raised me to believe that if you do something wrong you will get punished. I just don’t know what to think anymore.”

They just are at each other for a while. Suddenly Diana goes in for a hug and Eren just stays there, frozen, not knowing where to put his hands. Soon Eren can see Diana’s father standing outside, asking Diana to come inside.

Diana rolls her eyes and turns to look at her father. ”I’ll come in when I’m ready!”

Eren didn’t even have time to react when suddenly there was a hint of dark behind the reverend and Diana’s father was stabbed with a hook. Eren grabbed his bag and took out a small shotgun he had been carrying with him. He left Diana outside and rushed inside, following the sound of screaming. The Hook Man was dragging the reverend somewhere. Eren ran to upstairs where he could hear the father pleading and crying. When the door slammed shut right in front of him, Eren kicked it open and aimed quickly towards the cloaked man with a hook on his hand. Eren shot the Hook Man in the side. The Hook Man turned suddenly towards Eren, who shot him again. The Hook Man turned to dust and the gun blast shattered the bedroom window. Right then Diana had finally caught up to them and she pushed Eren out of the way so that she could help her father.

Eren cursed quietly. He would’ve already burned the bones if he hadn’t decided to keep an eye on this house.

 

**The Hospital, 1 st of July, 10:30AM**

“We were just talking. Then Dianas’s dad came out. And then he appeared.”

Ilse looked at Eren suspiciously.” A big man? Carrying a weapon, some kind of hook?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Ever seen him before?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Son, it seems every time I turn around, I’m seeing you. I suggest you try to stay out of trouble,” Ilse said and turned around to leave.

“Yes, ma’am,” Eren muttered and suddenly he saw a kind of familiar man walking towards him along with two sheriffs. He blinked when a man, a slightly shorter than him stopped right in front of him and showed his badge. Eren took in the neat undercut and sharp silvery eyes that were scanning him up and down.

“Agent Ackerman from FBI,” the man mutters and crosses his arms. People shuffle away from the corridor, giving the agent some space. The man fixes his black tie, looking at Eren’s face with hate written all over his face. “I would like to hear what happened, every single detail.”

Eren kept blinking. “Oh my god,” he mutters as he recognizes the hard glare in Ackerman’s eyes. “You’re the guy from the library. You’re the guy who assaulted my ear!” Eren hollered at the shorter man, who just kept staring at him. It almost looked like this so-called agent wasn’t even interested what he had just said. “What is your problem?!”

“Listen, brat,” Ackerman said, tapping a glass window which separated them from the hospital room and corridor. “While you were busy checking out that chick over there, I already found the grave and burned the bones.”

“What?” Eren sputtered in an extremely unintelligent way. This agent just suddenly spats things about finding grave and burning bones. What the hell?

“Or do we have some sort of misunderstanding here? You are a hunter, right?” Ackerman confirmed in a hushed tone.

Eren took a moment to recover. “Have you been stalking me? Who are you?”

“Levi Ackerman, a hunter in disguise if you didn’t caught up yet. And you are Grisha Jaeger’s son. Eren, right? No, but I’ve been covering your tracks and making sure I can leave this town with peaceful mind. And I can’t leave peacefully because apparently torching the bones didn’t even help.”

Eren had so many questions bottled up but if Levi knew his dad, he can’t be a bad person. Okay, focus. This Levi was apparently all about the work. He could ask later. And he did wanted some back up. Here it was. “At first I thought the spirit is latching on to the reverend.”

Levi looked like Eren had hit his head or something. “You think the reverend would send the hook man after himself? Are you a fucking idiot?” he asked from him.

Eren stared at Levi. Okay, so this is how Jean felt most of the time. Eren pinched the bridge of his nose.  “Dude, you’re not listening. Just listen. I said, **at first**. I think it’s latching onto Diana. Last night she found out her father is having an affair with a married woman.”

“Alright, I got it. So she thinks it’s immoral and it upsets her. If she is his daughter she was probably taught what is immoral and what is not. Danny came too strong and Diana’s roommate was a party girl… Ok, so she’s conflicted. And the spirit of Preacher Dawkins is latching on to repress the emotions and maybe he’s doing the punishing for her…” Levi agreed on Eren’s reasoning with disinterested tone. “So, now that I have to babysit you-“

“What? Babysit me? Excuse me? I’ve been on this line of duty for ten ye-“

“Look, kid,” Levi said, poking Eren’s chest with his long and pale finger, “I’m offering my help here. I think you might have noticed yesterday that sometimes it’s easier when there are two people on the same case. We are onto same case, so that makes things easier for both of us.”

Eren let out an exasperated sigh. “Yes, I did realize yesterday that two doing it would’ve been a hell of a lot easier.”

“See? I already did the shitty part without you knowing and we are already one step ahead. You can protect that constipated chick and I can get rid of the evil, everybody wins. Just don’t piss of that chick while I do the dirty job, okay? We’re short on hunters.”

“Okay, but what are you going to do? You burned the bones and it didn’t help. Did you miss something?”

“No I burned everything in that coffin,” Levi said with a thoughtful look. He looked outside for a while, thinking.

Eren snapped his fingers after few minutes of silence. “Did you get the hook?”

“There wasn’t a hook in the coffin, kid.”

“Okay, so we just have to find the hook. So, like the bones, the hook is a source of his power. You should know if you’re so **experienced** ,” Eren scoffed the last word with a drip of poison. Who this shorty thought he was?

“To the library, kid,” Levi said, motioning him to follow.

 

**The Library, 1:30PM**

Both of the males were situated in a quiet corner, drowning in papers and books. “Here’s something,” Eren suddenly said, flipping an old book towards Levi. “Log book, Iowa State Penitentiary. Dawkins, James. Personal affects: disposition thereof.”

Levi didn’t even lift his gaze towards the book and he kept scanning his own piece of paper. “Does it mention the hook?” he sighed, not really trusting Eren’s skills on looking up information. He had to slip the piece of paper in front of Eren earlier in that library. And also sleeping on duty. Was he serious?

Eren blushed from shame. “Ma-maybe,” he stuttered and kept reading forward. Levi was probably thinking he was some inexperienced kid, spouting nonsense. Like those people on paranormal blogs. Eren then read from the book out loud: ”Upon execution, all earthly items shall be remanded to the prisoner’s house of worship, St. Barnabas Church.”

Levi lifted his gaze towards Eren curiously. “Isn’t that where Diana’s father preaches? And they live there also?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe that’s why the Hook Man has been haunting reverends and reverends’ daughters for the past 200 years,” Levi said and flexed his neck. Eren wasn’t as dumb as he thought he would be. Positive.

Eren was silent for few minutes, since he was actually in deep thought. “Yeah, but if the hook were at the church or Diana’s house, don’t you think someone might’ve seen it? I mean a bloodstained, silver-handled hook?”

Levi rolled his eyes. It had been probably re-forged into something else. “Let’s check the church records.”

After few hours of digging through the church records, Eren was exhausted and resting on a soft chair.

“I knew it,” Levi sighed and took off his reading glasses. “St. Barnabas donations, 1862. Received silver-handled hook from state penitentiary. Re-forged. They melted it down. It was forged into something else.”

“It doesn't read what?”

“No it doesn't,” Levi sighed again and closed the large book.

 

**St. Barnabas Church, 9:43PM**

“Alright, we can’t take any chances. Anything silver goes into the fire,” Levi said as he got up from his car. They had decided to take Levi’s car since his trunk seemed to be a little bit more stocked that Eren’s. Oh look, Levi had a flashlight with full batteries.

“Okay, I agree. I’d rather not have a hook on my shoulder by the end of the day,” Eren said as he double-checked the flashlight and took his own duffle bag from the backseat. “So, Diana’s still at the hospital with her father. We’ll have to break in. Take a pick.”

“I’ll take the church,” Levi said and started walking towards it. “You take the house. And don’t smell any panties, ok?” he sighed. Maybe he should’ve picked the house instead. Teenagers and their hormones were hindrance in this job.

Eren blushed. He had no idea people like that even existed. Smelling underwear? Eren crinkled his nose and decided not to comment anything to Levi’s words. Not that he would’ve found a great comeback either.

 

**St. Barnabas Church, Basement, 10:22PM**

After a while Eren joined Levi in the church and they started throwing silver objects into the fire. “I got everything that even looked like silver,” Eren muttered as he threw the bag next to the oven.

“Better safe than sorry,” Levi said back as he started dumping the steals into the oven. “Shhh,” he suddenly hushed when both heard footsteps from above them. “Move, move,” he whispered, taking the gun with him. Levi motioned Eren to follow him upstairs. They went up the stairs but stopped when they saw Diana sitting on pew alone and crying. Levi lowered his gun and retreated to downstairs after he had gently nudged Eren forward.

“Diana?” Eren asked quietly.

Diana turned her head to look at Eren. “What are you doing here?” she sniffed and wiped her eyes.

Eren dismissed her question and sat next to her. “What is it?” he countered easily, trying his best to comfort Diana. Eren had never comforted women. Last time he comforted someone was Jean and that… that secret stays in Idaho.

“I’ve been trying to understand what’s been happening. Now I know so I’m praying for forgiveness,” she whispered, hands crossed in a prayer.

Eren lifted his eyebrow. Right, not everyone was a hunter and some believed that prayer will fix everything. “Forgiveness for what exactly?”

“Don’t you see!?” Diana raised her voice that was cracking from crying. “I’m to blame for all this. I’ve read in the Bible about avenging angels.”

Eren lifted his hands in an attempt to calm her down. Do not piss off this girl. Don’t do it, man. “Listen, this guy is definitely not an angel, no matter how you look at it.”

Diana didn’t seem to listen to Eren. She just kept crying. “I was so angry at my father. Part of me wanted him punished. And then he came and he punished him.”

“You know, it’s not your fault, Diana.”

“Yes, it is. I don’t know how, but it is. I killed Rich. Taylor, too. I nearly killed my father.”

Eren and Diana didn’t notice a shadow appearing in the back of the church. Eren only ran a hand through is chocolate brown hair. No matter what he said, it wouldn’t help because it was… kind of true. Again.

“Diana… I think you should stop that kind of thoughts.”

“I can see it now. They didn’t deserve to be punished. I do.”

Suddenly the church’s doors slammed shut and the candles on the altar were blown out. Eren could hear scratching noise from the front of the church. “Come on, we got to go,” Eren mumbled and helped Diana up from the bench as calmly as he could. He starts to walk towards the basement door with Diana next to his side. Just as Eren was picking up the pace and opening the basement door, he slammed it back closed when he saw the Hook Man right behind it. The Hook Man slammed his hook against the fragile door and it went right through it. “GO!” Eren yelled at Diana, and they ran towards the back room.

The Hook Man followed them and smashed the glass of the back room door with his hook. Diana made it inside, but Eren was caught by the Hook Man. The Hook Man swung his hook at Eren. Dodge. Twice. Duck and dodge. Thrice. Eren then ducked again and retreated towards Diana. Eren cursed his luck. He left his gun into basement with Levi. Where was he anyways?! The Hook Man chased the two of them around the room and finally hooked Eren in the shoulder while he had pushed Diana out of the way. Eren screamed in pain and fell onto floor, holding his shoulder.

Suddenly The Hook Man turned invisible and knocked Diana off her feet. The Hook Man then dragged Diana on her back across the floor, away from the back room. It suddenly let go of Diana and Eren ran next to her, asking if she was alright. Just as Eren was about to help Diana up from the floor, he was knocked backwards against the wall by The Hook Man. He got up and maneuvered behind the Hook Man, who was standing over Diana.

Then Levi decided to enter with his gun raised. “Eren, drop!”

Eren dropped down quickly and Levi shot the Hook Man once and he disappeared into dust. “That gash on your shoulder looks pretty bad,” Levi then commented and rested his rifle against his own shoulder.

“I… I thought we got all the silver,” Eren huffed from exhaustion and helped Diana to stand up.

Levi nodded. “So did I,” he simply said and walked closer to Eren so that he could inspect the wound on his shoulder. Yep, it was pretty bad. “So yeah, sorry it took so long.”

“Then why the hell is he still here?!” Eren yelled. He was very tired, losing blood and his temper wasn’t on its peak right now. Eren made a face from the pain and tried to breathe calmly.

“Calm down, Eren,” Levi said, promising to patch Eren’s shoulder after they had got rid of the Hook Man. “Maybe we missed something,” Levi sighed, looking around the room. His eyes land on Diana’s necklace. “Hey, where did you get that necklace?”

Diana got startled when Levi was suddenly asking about her necklace. “My father gave it to me…”

Eren’s interest was also piqued by the jewellery around her neck. “Where did your dad get it?” he breathed out.

“He said it was a church heirloom, he gave it to me when I started school.”

“Is it silver?” Levi asked, already stepping towards Diana.

“Yes!” Diana yelled and Levi snatched the chain off her neck quickly.

All three of them jumped at the sudden noise from the hallway. In the hallway, the Hook Man, who was now invisible, was making a long scratch on the wall with his hook. Levi turned around to look at it. “Eren! Cover me!” he yelled and threw his rifle to him along with rock salt. Levi made a break for the downstairs with the necklace.

Eren aimed for the scratch at the wall and shot a little over to the left so that he would hit the Hook Man. He quickly reloaded the gun with rock salt. Just as he was done with reloading and aiming it again, the Hook Man appeared and knocked the gun away from his hands.

Diana and Eren were backed into a corner with the Hook Man in front of them. Just as he was about to strike them, the hook started to melt and suddenly the whole body was lit on fire. Then the body was turned into ashes in front of them. Eren bit back tears of relief. He was so glad he had met Levi on this trip. This would’ve been almost impossible alone.

Levi came to upstairs, sighing in relief when he noticed that Eren was still alive and kicking. Good.

 

**Eren’s Motel Room, Virginia, Richmond 2 nd of July**

Levi was currently occupied with Eren’s shoulder. He was stitching it with hands of an expert, really. “I’m not even sorry about your car,” Levi said. He glanced at Eren’s face that was everything but pleased at the moment. “You know, I’m not saying it’s your fault but you should keep the doors locked.”

“I get it. I GET IT, alright?!” Eren hissed at Levi but soon moaned in pain when Levi pinched his wound. “You fucking sadist,” he breathed out, tears prickling the corners of his eyes. He bit into pillow, not wanting to let out any more embarrassing sounds.

Levi shrugged his shoulders and finished treating Eren’s shoulder. He cleaned it thoroughly and looked pleased. “I did neat job. Bet your old man would be so fucking proud of my skills.”

“Do you know where my dad is?” Eren suddenly asked, lifting his head up from the pillow. He almost forgot that he had some serious questions but they had kind of flown away when they were doing their job. “Have you been working with my dad? Should I know you?”

“Nope. It’s been three years since I last saw him. I haven’t worked with him but much like I did with you, we used to crash into a same case. I just happened to recognize you from the picture he kept in his wallet. And no, you shouldn’t recognize me. My turn. Where is your base? Or headquarters? You might want to go there, you know. Without your wallet and all that shit.”

“Oregon…”

“You gotta be shitting me. Did you come all the way from Oregon to Virginia based on that newspaper? How do you plan to get back there?” Levi asked.

“Oh my god, no I didn’t. I was just passing through here. I’m actually looking for my father so I haven’t been at HQ for… Ages. I only call there and get a job and do it while searching. So my best bet right now is stealing a new car and get out of here. Hitchhiking is also an option. It’s not like it would be the first time,” Eren said, but shuddered at the memory of his first hitchhike.

Levi nodded and took a seat on the chair next to Eren’s bed. “Are you in pain?” he asked, genuinely interested.

“A little,” Eren murmured and closed his eyes. “Not to mention tired. I lost a lot of blood,” he told Levi. Silence filled the motel room for few minutes. “By the way… Were you the one who got me out of that station?”

Levi turned to look somewhere else. “Sort of, yes. I asked some freshman get you out and tell that he was playing a prank on you. If I went there, I would’ve not been able to pull off as being a freshman playing a prank. I’m older than you.”

“How long have you been hunting? You don’t look much older than I am.”

“Flattering. I’m 29 years old,” Levi answered and took a pack of cigarettes from his jacket’s pocket. “I’ve been on this line of work ten years longer than you. Your ten years is a joke. I even had to save you from Dawkins. Be grateful,” he said as light up his cancer stick. He opened the window while he was at it. Not that many motels even cared, but Levi did.

Eren puffed his cheeks. “What, am I supposed to go all senpai on you now?” 

“What are you, a fan girl? Please don’t,” Levi clicked his tongue and continued nurturing his cigarette. He glanced at Eren’s phone that was buzzing on the nightstand. Levi picked it up. “Who’s Kirschtein?”

 

 

**To be continued.**


	2. Knight on a white horse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something you might want to know before proceeding with this chapter.  
> 1\. E.M.F. Reader: Electro Magnetic Frequency Reader. This device reads electro magnetic frequencies. It is used to see traces of ghosts and other paranormal activity because usually they mess up with electro magnetic fields.  
> 2\. Eren's old car didn't have A/C.
> 
> Enjoy!

_“He is our newbie. Two years. Can you please pick it up for me?” Eren asked, “I can’t deal with him right now.”_

_Levi shrugged his shoulders and put the phone on his ear. “Speak quickly,” he huffed, listening to Jean ask where Eren is. “No. I’m not Eren. I’m his babysitter… Yes he is right here. Dead? God no, thanks to me. Hey asshat,” Levi addressed Eren, who lifted his head from the pillow, “the noob wants to talk with you. Says it’s urgent.”_

_Eren glared the phone when he had lifted his head enough to see it. He watched as Levi sat next to him and pressed the phone into his ear. Not even giving him any choice, that bastard. “Horseface, you better have a good fucking reason to bother me on my day-off. Happy hunting?! Seriou-“_

_“I need help.”_

_“What?” Eren whined, “Why? What did you do now? I can’t be your knight on a white horse right now. My car and equipment is-”_

_Levi rolled his eyes and took the phone away from Eren. “Listen kid. We’re coming depending on your location.”_

_“Wait… what? We?” Eren sputtered in a daze. “ **Why?** ”_

 

**Road 64, 3 rd of July, 3:10PM**

And that is how Eren Jaeger found himself seated in Levi Ackerman’s black 2010 Land Rover. “You have A/C in your car… Luxury…” Eren muttered and slumped against his seat. If there was one good thing, it was the air conditioner.

Levi glanced at Eren quickly, never really taking his eyes from the road. “How’s your shoulder?” he asked and tossed an icepack to Eren from the backseat. He also gave him a notebook. “According to that Kirschtein kid there were three different couples and all went missing. But they are all from different states. First was from South Carolina, second was from Arkansas, and third one was from Nebraska. There are not any connections to them, apparently. Each one took a road trip cross-country. None of them arrived at their destination, and none of them were ever heard from again.”

“It’s a big country, Levi,” Eren sighed. He wasn’t very sure about going all the way to Indiana for nothing. It could be just Jean’s overactive imagination. “They could be anywhere. I know Jean, he is probably just-“

Levi held a finger at Eren. “The icepack, Eren,” he commanded the younger boy who finally placed it on his shoulder. “That is true. They could be anywhere. But each one’s route took them to the same part of Indiana, always on the first week of July. One year after another. My guess is…” he started and flipped his notebook pages without taking his eyes off the road, “… is that Kirschtein was sent there to go hunt something before more people vanishes. Do I call my Paranormal Library or do you call yours?”

Eren sulked, staring at the notebook pages blankly. “Why do you want to even go there?” he asked in desperate tone.

“What do you mean why?” Levi asked with raised eyebrow. “He asked for help. I don’t how you’ve been taught to hunt but if someone needs help, you go. I like to hunt alone, but I never turn down someone who actually needs a hand. I can count the hunters I know with one hand. Probably two is enough if we count yours in too. Do you understand my point?”

“Yes, sir…” Eren murmured, not wanting to argue with Levi. There was this aura around Levi that said ‘do not piss him off’.

“Plus, you don’t have a car, equipment or money. Did I have a choice?” Levi asked, peeking a glance at Eren again. “Are you… pouting?”

Eren glared at Levi’s remark about pouting. “I’m calling Armin,” he spat at Levi, dialing his number. “You’re an ass.”

Levi rolled his eyes. Eren’s definition of “an ass” was weird. He had offered Eren a ride, help and equipment to use. And that fucking AC. Yet he had nerve to call him an ass. _Grisha, your son has temper and I’m not responsible what happens if he pisses me off._ Levi listened to the conversation that was on speaker. There wasn’t much information available on this case and Armin said that this was supposed to be fairly easy job for Jean but perhaps he had overestimated his abilities to keep his head cool.

Eren ended the call, listening to the cd that was playing on Levi’s player. “Do you like german songs?” he asked when he recognized the language.

Levi kept his eyes on the road this time. “Mainly the language,” he said without thinking too much about it. “You’re from Germany, right?” Levi hummed as he remembered his conversation with Grisha.

“Yeah… But we moved to the states two years before… Before mom died,” Eren said, staring the road.

“Right…” Levi murmured. He knew the story. There was no need to dig into it. “Do you need to take a shit?”

 

**Burkitsville, Indiana, 4 th of July, 12:30AM**

Eren stumbled out of the car. He watched as Levi got out without batting his eyes. “Are you never tired?” he asked in disbelief, rubbing his eyes. They had had only one stop and it was needed because Levi wanted to walk around a little. It was apparent that driving long distances will make your feet tired.

Levi threw the car keys to Eren. “I’m going to go book the room. I’ll wait you in the hall. Park the car, text Kirschtein where we are staying at and ask him to meet us at that café over there. I need fucking sleep,” he said and disappeared inside the motel.

Eren groaned, but did as he was told. He got onto driver’s seat and started texting Jean that they had arrived to Indiana just a while back and were not booking a motel. Eren quickly parked the car and went to open the tailgate. He took two guns and stuffed them to duffel bags. He also picked some extra rock salt and started walking back to the motel. He kept glancing over his shoulder. “Eerie…” he muttered and shuffled inside. He was already more relaxed when he saw Levi waiting for him.

“Good. Let’s go to our room,” Levi said and motioned Eren to follow him. He did spare a glance at Eren’s pale face. “Are you alright?” he asked. Eren wasn’t that pale when he last saw him at the car. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he made a pretty lame joke and opened the door in front of them for Eren.

“Well I just thought that this place gives me the creeps. In so many wrong ways,” Eren breathed out and dumped the duffel bag on the table. He stopped explaining when he realized that Levi wasn’t even listening. “What are you doing?”

Levi swiped the counters with white gloves, looking satisfied after 15 minutes of inspecting the room. “They have good cleaning standards,” he just commented and put the gloves away. “Maybe you should just get some rest. We’re both pretty tired. Let me see that shoulder.”

Eren yawned and took off his jacket and t-shirt so that Levi could check it properly. “It’s not infected and I don’t have fever.”

“Well it is not going to get infected on my watch,” Levi chuckled and cleaned the nicely healing wound, just in case. “Okay, all set. Get to bed,” he said and pointed one of beds, under a window.

“Check that the door is locked.”

“I will. Good night.”

“Good night.”

 

**Sunshine Café, Burkitsville, 4 th of July, 9:12AM**

Levi and Eren found one thing in common: they were not morning people. Levi seemed to deal with it better than Eren. But here they were, sitting in a Sunshine Café where literally everyone was smiling brightly. Both of them nurtured their coffee and when Jean came in with his usual grin and good mood, Eren was about to hurl.   
“I need sunglasses and stronger coffee,” Eren complained as if he was blinded by Jean’s appearance. What he did appreciate that the idiot had decided to shade his face with a hood of his jacket. He took a sip of his black coffee, looking anywhere but at Jean’s blinding grin. “I thought you have a problem.”

“Well, I do,” Jean said and took his notebook from his backpack. He put it onto table. “The thing is... no one knows anything in this city. Everyone is just-“

“Anything else?” a waitress came to the table and looked at Eren’s pale face with concern. “You know what? I’ll give you this on the house. Get better, sweetheart,” she smiled and placed a cookie basket in front of him.

“… Overly nice…” he finished when the waitress left their table.

Eren blinked, staring at the cookies with thoughtful look. He reached for one and started to nibble it. “My cookies, not yours,” he reminded Levi and Jean with dangerous look in his eyes.

Jean sighed and resumed to his papers. “Right. The weird thing is that,” he said and pointed the cookies. “Why do you always get the good stuff?” Jean asked with cocked eyebrow, trying to reach and take one.

Eren slapped Jean’s hand away, almost hissing at him. “They are **mine**.”

“You two…” Levi rubbed his temples and took all the papers from Jean. “So that’s what the scarecrow looks like? You said it climbed down from its own cross?”

“Yes I drew it later last night but only because I didn’t have the phone with me, so I couldn’t exactly take a picture,” Jean explained, “Its skin was made of human skin. It was stitched in a really sloppy way. I would’ve not paid attention but I recognized that tattoo. The husband had it on his arm. Which means… I don’t know what it means. They were probably skinned by that creepy thing.”

Eren hummed, considering the options. “But you were helping a couple run away from it later, right? Did something happen before you decided that the couple was in danger?” Eren asked and ate more cookies.

“Did you even wash your hands?” Levi asked with distaste when he saw Eren lick his fingers. “It was an orchard, right? The place where your E.M.F Reader went wild?” he confirmed while Jean nodded to his confirmations.

“It happened in this café, actually. I asked information on this man and his wife here“, Jean said and pointed a face on sheet of paper, “they told me that these two were here last year. Just married and they stopped by to get some gas. Then they helped them back to the main road and that’s it. You guys following? Good. So I asked this one chick who is about same age as we, if she had lived here her whole life. Most of it yes, but what didn’t sit well is that the towns around them and their people are losing their homes, their farms. But here, it’s almost like they are blessed. Good crops and they are famous of their apples. And I also asked about the scarecrow but she said it has always been there for no apparent reason.”

Eren kept munching is cookies and suddenly stopped. “These taste like apples.”

“Don’t interrupt me, Eren,” Jean sighed and almost reached to whip his head. “I’m trying to be cool here with all my knowledge and y-“

“Kirschtein. Continue,” Levi sighed next to him.

“Anyways,” Jean drawled and tried not to focus on Eren, “I noticed a car just standing alone at the garage, and I asked if it was hers and she told me that some couple had troubles with it. So I came in here and found that waitress, who just brought Eren cookies, offering them an apple pie on the house. I tried to hit up a conversation with the couple, Helen and Mark, but suddenly the whole café staff looked me like I was offending every damn people in this godforsaken town. I asked why did they stop here and they said that their tire had a hole in it and it needed to be fixed. They said that they will get the car back when the sun goes down and I said that it doesn’t take that long to fix one tire. Plus, that the roads are pretty dangerous at nights. And then I was escorted away from this town by the sheriff.”

Eren snapped his fingers. “Oh so that’s why you’re having a hood over your head,” he whispered quietly, understanding the situation better now. “And then you followed the couple?”

Jean nodded.

 

**_Outskirts of Burkitsville, 2 nd of July, 7:29PM_ **

_Jean looked from the rear window for a right moment to turn his car over. He was already five miles away from the Burkitsville. When he was sure that the sheriff didn’t follow him anymore, he made u-turn and started driving back, towards the orchid and Burkitsville._

**_The Orchid, 2 nd of July, 8:23PM_ **

_“I can’t believe it; we just got the car fixed,” Helen complained when their car had stopped working just outside the orchid. She got out from the car and looked around. It was already dark and all she could see was apple trees and small light beyond them. “Mark?”_

_“Let’s go that way,” Mark offered and pointed towards the light. “Maybe someone could help us a little. Are you cold?” he asked, wrapping his arm over her wife’s shoulder._

_They started walking quickly but were startled by a sudden movement behind them. Helen let out a small cry of fear and clung to Mark. “What was that?” she whined quietly. Both of them could hear rasped breaths. “Mark, I’m scared.”_

_“Who’s there?!” Mark asked with loud voice._

_The scarecrow emerged from behind the tree and started walking towards the couple. Helen let out a high-pitched scream and both of them started to run away from the scarecrow that was carrying a small scythe with him. The scarecrow had its face stitched together, so it didn’t have a nose or mouth. The eyes were only empty sockets and it was wearing a long, ripped trench coat._

_“Get back to your car!” Jean yelled as he was running towards them with his dear shotgun. “Go! Now!” he yelled again and tried to shoot the scarecrow. The rock salt didn’t even slow it down when it had set his eyes on the prey. All three of them started running towards Jean’s car and soon they were out of the orchid._

_“What the hell was that?!” Mark asked from Jean, who was still aiming towards the orchid. The scarecrow didn’t seem to follow them anymore._

_Jean swallowed thickly. He had never been this scared in his whole life. “Don’t ask.”_

“So the rock salt didn’t do anything? Just pummeled into it? There wasn’t any reaction to it?” Levi confirmed and asked for another cup of coffee from the overly nice waitress. After she went away, Levi heaved a long sigh. “Then it’s definitely something else than a spirit or a demon. Could be something we don’t even know about yet.”

“No, it’s more than a spirit. It’s a god. A Pagan god,” Eren suddenly said. He had already finished his cookies and paid more attention to the conversation now. “I was thinking about the possibilities before but I wanted to be sure before I said anything. The pattern is pretty clear to me: couple serves as a sacrifice once a year and the crops are blessed. You know, it’s like a fertility thing. And if Jean is telling the truth, they just give food to them for free… to make them fatter I guess. Like pigs.”

Levi pointed the empty cookie basket in front of him. “Last time I checked, you don’t carry a woman with you and yet you got treated cookies on the house.”

Jean snorted. “Eren wouldn’t be able to score with anyone. Maybe they are sacrificing virgins. Eren is a virgin.”

“Jean!” Eren hissed at him, burning red at this point. “I’m just cute, so I got nice service, okay. That is beside the point here.”

“No but I agree with Eren. It’s our best shot for now,” Levi said, sipping his coffee. “It’s like a last meal before sacrificial. And my guess is that the god has possessed the scarecrow and the scarecrow kills the victims. But would you happen to know which god it is?”

Eren shrugged his shoulders. “No, I’m not like Armin. I don’t carry a library inside of my brains.”

“Oh, I thought you didn’t even have brains in the first place.”

“Kirschtein…”

“What?!”

 

**Community College, Indiana, 1:34PM**

“It’s not every day I get a research question on Pagan ideology.”

Jean glanced at the professor curiously. He was accompanying Eren while Levi was doing research in their motel room. He would’ve so much rather switched with Levi but somehow he wasn’t convinced with Jean’s abilities to find good material, so he ordered him to go with Eren.

Eren laughed. “Yeah, well. It’s a hobby of mine. I’m actually really into the local lore. I travel all around to know more about them.”

“He’s a sharp kid. Sometimes I get little bit frightened by his obsession wi-“ Jean started saying but was quickly interrupted with an elbow that was crashed into his ribs. _You little bitch…_  

“Well you see, I’m afraid Indiana isn’t exactly known for its Pagan worship,” the professor apologized, smiling gently to Eren. They were walking in the college library. There were big bookcases filling almost every wall and surface.

“What if it was imported? Wasn’t a lot of this area settled by immigrants?” Eren asked, trying not to sneeze at the dust that was attacking his nose. If one thing was sure, as long as he travelled with Levi, there wouldn’t be a dust problem. He heard the professor making confirmative sound from his mouth.

“Like that town near here, Burkitsville. Where are their ancestors from?” Jean suddenly asked, tearing his gaze away from the many books around them.

Professor hummed and took a book from the shelf. “I believe it they were from Scandinavia.”

“Did they have Pagan gods?” Jean asked eyes wide.

 Eren resisted an urge to roll his eyes. They were especially known for their gods. “Jean. There are hundreds of Norse gods and goddesses,” he lectured the taller man. He then turned towards the professor. “We’re actually looking for only one of them, might live in orchid or someplace like that.”

“Well, I think it could be the Woods God then,” the professor said and placed the large book on one of the many glass tables. He started leafing through the pages until Jean stopped him.

“Wait. What about that scarecrow there? Which god is it?” Jean asked from the old professor who took off his glasses. The page was full of hard to read text and a picture of a scarecrow on the side.

“It’s not technically a Woods god. It’s the Vanir,” the professor told Jean.

Eren took the book so that he could read it better. “The Vanir were Norse gods of protection and prosperity, keeping the local settlements safe from harm. Some villages built effigies of the Vanir in their fields. Other villages practiced human sacrifice. One male, and one female,” he murmured so that Jean could hear also. “This Vanir gets energy from the sacred tree?”

The professor laughed a little. “Well, Pagans believed all sorts of things were infused with magic.”

“So what would happen if the sacred tree was torched? You think it’d kill the god?” Jean asked with serious expression.

“Son, these are just legends we’re discussing,” the professor said and closed the book.

Eren nodded. “Indeed, Jean. You get into things so easily,” he retorted and shook hands with the professor. “Thank you for having us.”

“I’m glad I was able to help you.”

Jean and Eren started leave from the library but just as Jean was opening the door, he got hit by the end of the sheriff’s rifle. At the same time Eren’s head was smashed with a vase from behind.

“Thank you, sheriff,” the professor said. “Take care of them, will you?”

 

**The Motel Room, Burkitsville, 5:12PM**

Levi stared at the phone on the table. He hadn’t found anything from the internet and Eren was yet to call from the community college. He drummed his fingers anxiously against the table and grabbed the phone. They had been on the road for almost six hours. When Eren didn’t answer his call, Levi decided to grab his jacket and the umbrella. He got out from the motel room and started walking towards the café. He needed coffee to clear his head. Maybe Jean and Eren were inside the café.

“I’m the one that sends ‘em down to the orchard.”

Levi stopped walking when he heard a group of people talking amongst themselves. He decided to stop and take a smoke. The conversation seemed way too delicious to walk by. He lighted his cigarette and pretended not to eavesdrop.

“We all close our doors. Look the other way. Pretend we can’t hear the screams. But this is different, this—this is murder. They are just curious boys!”

“If the boys have to die, the boys have to die. There is no way around it.”

Levi furrowed his eyebrows and tapped his cigarette. Did Eren and Kirschtein get caught by the villagers? _But it doesn’t make any sense. They need a girl too._

“But you’re taking my daughter!”

Levi grunted quietly. _Oh, okay. So there are three sacrifices now. Fucking awesome._

“Tonight’s the seventh night of the cycle. Our last chance. The trees are already dying.”

Levi didn’t waste any more time. He stumped his cigarette and started walking back to the motel. He needed the car. “Those two idiots lower their guards way too easily. Just like last time, Eren almost pissed off that crazy chick…” Levi muttered and got inside the car. He started the engine and drove away from the parking lot.

 

**The Cellar, 5:30PM**

Eren kicked the door. “If you had just look what was ahead of you, we wouldn’t be in this situation!” he yelled at Jean, who was slumped in a corner of the moist cellar. The cellar had nothing. It was almost like a small pit with a door. “This is ridiculous.”

“We’re going to die here…” Jean murmured and buried his head into his knees. “WE’RE GOING TO DIE!”

Suddenly the cellar door opened and Eren is taken back by a girl who was thrown into his direction. He fell on his butt with a small thump. “What the…?” he murmured at the weight on his stomach and chest.

“Don’t do this to me. Please!” she yelled to the couple by the door.

Eren had to cover his ear. What? He tried lifting his head and craning his neck so he could see who was at the door.

“It’s for the common good, Lisa.” The door was shut.

“Lisa?” Jean asked and lifted his head. “What are you doing here?” he asked from the unknown girl.

“Wait… Do you know each other?” Eren asked when the girl had finally moved away from him. “What the hell Jean? You asked for help and yet you had time to screw with girls?”

Jean raised his hands in defense. “It’s not like that. This is the girl I was talking to yesterday.”

Eren sighed. Of course. He dusted the dirt from his clothes and went back to the door. “Lisa. You wouldn’t happen to have a phone on you, would you?”

“No. What is going on? Are they going to kill us or something?” Lisa asked, shivering from fear. She was digging her nails into her arms.

“Sacrifice us. You really didn’t know anything about this, did you? A scarecrow god or sacrifices?” Eren spoke to Lisa after making sure that the door wouldn’t budge no matter how much he kicked it.

Lisa laughed pathetically. “I don’t believe you. This is just some sick prank you’re pulling me in, right Jean?”

“Well, you better start believing, because we’re going to need your help,” Jean retorted and took a deep breath.

“You think a small girl can bust down a door?” Eren asked. He slammed the door with his hand. “I’d like to see you giddy up and destroy the damn door with your hooves.”

Jean silenced Eren by placing a hand over his mouth. “Listen to me, Eren. We’re going to be sacrificed. The best shot right now is to find out where that sacred tree is and once we’re at the orchid, we can find it and destroy it. Somehow. I’ll think of a plan.”

“There was this one apple tree. The immigrants brought it over with them. They call it the First Tree,” Lisa spoke up suddenly, startling the boys from their bickering. “I don’t know where it is, but somewhere in the orchid.”

Jean and Eren share a look just before the door is opened again by the couple. “Let’s go,” the couple said, dragging the trio out from the cellar.

 

**The Orchid, 8:43PM**

Eren tried to wriggle out of the ropes. The boys and Lisa were all tied into three separate trees. They had been here for hours already and it was raining. Eren was starting to get cold. “How’s your plan, Jean?” he asked, trying to jerk his hands free. The sun had already set and it was only a matter of minutes when the scarecrow would come and claim the sacrifices. Eren tried to glance over his shoulder where the scarecrow still was, waiting.

Lisa swallowed thickly, not even trying to get out of her ropes. “You don’t have a plan, do you?”

“I heard something,” Eren said when he heard something move on the area.

“Oh my god,” Lisa wailed and closed her eyes in fear.

Suddenly Eren screamed out loud when someone stood next to him.

“Relax,” a familiar voice spoke in low tone. It was Levi. Levi took his pocket knife and started to clip Eren’s binds away as quickly as he could. “I just can’t trust you two to do anything right, can I? Without me you guys would be already dead.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just keep an eye on the scarecrow,” Eren swallowed, trying to keep his voice normal. He had almost pissed his pants.

Levi looked around while cutting the rest of the ropes. “What? Where is it supposed to be?” he asked with puzzled expression.

Eren got up from the ground fast, looking at the empty cross in front of them. The scarecrow had climbed off. “We had a plan.”

“You **had** a plan?” Levi asked, staring the empty cross. “Does it mean it’s not applicable anymore?”

“I don’t know,” Eren muttered and hurried to un-do Jean’s ropes. Levi went for Lisa’s ropes. “I suggest you to not panic, but we don’t know where the scarecrow is.”

“Oh my god,” Lisa wailed again and Levi resisted the urge to leave her behind. “We’re going to die…”

Levi lifted her from the ground. “What was this plan you guys had?”

Eren motioned everyone to follow him. They started running aimlessly around the orchid while Eren explained what the original plan was. “There is supposed to be one apple tree somewhere in this orchid. It’s the source of its power.”

“Okay… So what is the problem? We just need to find it and burn it,” Levi said matter-o-factly. “I don’t see any problem.”

Jean stopped running when he spotted the townspeople waiting at the orchid entrance. “There is one problem. We can’t do it in the dark. Why? Because we have this faceless fucking scarecrow on our tail!” he hissed at Levi.

“I have gasoline in my car. I have a lighter in my fucking pocket. Jean, take the girl and run to my car. Bring the gasoline and Eren and I can take care of it,” Levi said in calm tone, hunching down when he heard raspy breath somewhere around them. “It probably isn’t even interested in me and Eren. Why? Because we don’t reek like teen hormones. Just go.”

Eren tried not to laugh when Jean sprinted towards the car, circling the townspeople easily with Lisa. He turned to look at Levi. “Do I owe you like, two now?”

Levi rolled his eyes and dragged Eren with him quietly. “I have an idea,” he whispered to Eren’s ear. “Can you stay here for a minute?”

Eren nodded and watched as Levi started walking towards the townspeople. _What is he doing!?_ Eren watched as Levi started talking to the elder couple. It seemed like whatever he had said, the couple entered the orchid. Suddenly Eren realized what he is doing. “Oh god,” Eren whispered when the scarecrow was suddenly there and it stabbed the older man. Levi had already started retreating towards Eren. “You… Yo-“

“Eren, don’t look,” Levi said but Eren couldn’t rip his gaze away. He watched as the scarecrow started dragging the man and his wife away. He could hear the man screaming when the scarecrow started to peel his skin off slowly, starting from his face. It was dark, but Eren could still see pretty good from where he was hunched over. “Eren, look at me, please,” Levi said and turned Eren’s head towards him.

Eren did turn to look at him but he immediately slapped Levi across the face. “You’re cruel man. You can’t be right in your head! We’re trying to save people, not to take their lives for our own good!”

Levi grabbed Eren’s hands and looked at the tears that were streaming down his tan face. Wow. He was a sensitive one. “Eren. Do you seriously think they were good people? How many they have murdered or sacrificed? How many clothes they have burned? How many cars have they disposed of? You were going to be one of them with Jean and that girl. I saved many lives by doing that.”

Eren grit his teeth in anger. “But you’re no better than them! You did the exact same thing! Lured them in the orchid! We could’ve just waited until morning and there would be no more sacrifices!”

Jean came through the trees and put down the gasoline. He had also seen. He had also heard Eren’s yelling. “Eren. You need to focus. Levi is right. You should understand what happens when the tree is torched.”

Eren sniffled and tried wiping his eyes even if Levi was holding them in place. He didn’t want to say that Levi was right. He didn’t want to admit that Jean had a point.

Levi sighed and straightened up from the ground where they were hunched down. “Take care of Eren. I’m going to find the tree and burn it down,” he said and grabbed the gasoline. Levi started to walk away until he felt a hand grabbing the back of his jacket carefully. He turned to look at Eren’s sad face. “What is it, kid?”

“I- I’m going with you.”

Levi had a faint smirk on his lips. “Good answer. Let’s go. Kirschtein, go the car and wait there. If we’re not back in 40 minutes, leave,” he said and watched Jean go back. “You alright?”

Eren didn’t give an answer. How many times had Levi asked that in these past few days? He started to run with Levi, trying to recognize a tree that would look somehow different from the others. In darkness. “Did you bring a flashlight?”

“I didn’t think we would actually need one,” Levi admitted, slowing his pace after a while. “Wait,” he said and took out his phone. He walked closer to a tree that was a lot bigger than the rest. Eren followed him closely. Levi flashed a small light at the tree trunk. “Do you see that symbol?”

Eren inspected the tree a little bit closer. He brought his hand to the surface of the trunk. He felt around it and nodded. It was like a ring that circled the whole tree. “I can feel it too. It’s probably this one.”

“Don’t touch it. It’s probably filthy,” Levi huffed and started pouring gasoline all over the tree. “You know… The whole town is going to die because of this,” he whispered quietly to Eren. He had already learned something about Eren. He valued human lives more than anything. Levi too, valued them, but always thought about the greater good. Eren was also easily hurt. He was easily agitated. “I know I sacrificed the old couple, but they would’ve died any-”

Eren took the lighter from Levi and fingered the cool surface of it. “Don’t. Just… Just shut up. Please,” he whispered and lit up a small piece of wood. He took a few steps back with Levi and then he threw the piece of wood towards the tree.

Levi held in a sigh and stared at the burning tree in front of them. _He is still just a kid._ “Come on,” he murmured quietly and started to lead Eren out of the orchid.

 

**Road 39, 5 th of July, 9:23AM**

Eren let out a small, content sigh when we woke up from his slumber. His neck was killing him from sleeping in a car, in an awkward posture. He didn’t say anything to Levi, just watched the view go by. He was still upset. Upset that he couldn’t exactly save anyone but that girl.

“I’m still wondering,” Levi startled Eren. Eren groaned a little and sat straighter when Levi had realized he was awake. “Why didn’t you go with Jean even though he asked you?” Levi continued, turning the radio down a little.

Eren didn’t dare to look at Levi. He wasn’t sure about the answer. “He was going to Oregon…”

Levi drummed the wheel with his fingers. “You could’ve gotten your new equipment and a car from there. You could’ve just, you know, lived your life like you used to,” he said to Eren. Sometimes Levi really didn’t understand Eren.

It was silent again. Not exactly awkward kind of silence, but silent nonetheless.

“I’m jus-“, “I mea-“

The boys had started to say something at the same time. Once Eren had shut his mouth for few seconds, Levi realized that he wanted him to talk first. “I’m sorry about what I did to that old couple. I understand, it was a pointless death to your eyes, but I saw nothing wrong with it. I was just protecting Kirschtein, you and that chick. If you’re so mad at me, I don’t understand why you are even breathing the same air as me right now.”

Eren was quiet for few minutes, as if trying to comprehend everything Levi had just said to him. “I… I’m sorry too. I was overreacting and I understand your reasoning. And… And I decided to come with you because I might learn something. That I can’t save anyone. No matter how much I try. I could learn…”

Levi spared a glance towards Eren who was again on verge of tears. “Okay, I get it. Just don’t cry, okay? I don’t know how to deal with crying little shits,” he murmured quietly and turned the radio louder again. “Our next stop is Minnesota no matter what your friend says,” Levi said at the same time as Eren’s phone buzzed. “Old friend of mine needs help. It sounded like a job that is for us.”

“You have friends?” Eren joked and took the phone from the center console.

**From: Armin Arlert:  
I heard you didn’t go with Jean. Are you okay? I want to speak with Levi’s contact if he has any. There are no signs of your father. There might be something weird in Minnesota. Can you guys go check it out? Answer me ASAP before I assign it to Sasha and Connie. **

**Received: 9:45AM July 5 th, 2011**

Levi smacked Eren’s head with a gentle slap. “Don’t worry your pretty little head over it. What does your friend want?” he asked, not bothering to even look in Eren’s direction.

“Armin wants to talk with your contact. He also said that there is something going on in Minnesota, so no problem with that,” Eren said and turned to look at Levi for answers.

Levi worried his lower lip for a while. “Take my notebook from the backseat. Open the last page and find the name ‘Erwin Smith’. He probably doesn’t want any unnecessary calls, but… Guess I have to risk it if you want to tag along. I need to inform him anyways. Ask Armin to say him that I’m babysitting Grisha’s son so he should be more understanding.”

Eren swallowed. He still didn’t understand why Levi knew so much about his father. And this Erwin person too? He took the notebook and leafed through the pages quickly before he started texting back.

**To: Armin Arlert:  
I’m alright. I’ll explain to you sometime. Levi’s contact is Erwin Smith. His number is: XXX-XXX-XXXX. We’re already headed to Minnesota. Levi’s friend called and said that they needed help. He also said that tell Erwin that “Levi is babysitting Grisha’s son”. He said it would make things easier between you two. I’ll call you when we get there.**

**Sent: 9:52AM July 5 th, 2011**

Levi watched Eren putting his phone away. “You are 22 years old, right?” he murmured, thinking back to their conversation at the café with Jean.

“Mhm,” Eren agreed and cracked the window open. He wanted to feel the air, rather than just Levi’s A/C (god bless that). “Why do you ask?”

“How the fuck are you still virgin?”

“Oh fuck me, not you too.”

“Just curious.”

 

**To be continued.**


	3. Gregory Washington

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi was flashing his face ID (Gregory Washington) to a sheriff in front of him. The sheriff was looking at Levi rather suspiciously. “So, what can we do for you, Officer Washington?” she asked with slightly mocking tone which Levi didn’t appreciate at all. She was clearly younger than him anyways. Why were all the damn sheriffs always women? What was wrong with this country?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me a lot more time than I thought it would. And in the end I came with a conclusion that I hate it. Almost detest it. I re-wrote and re-wrote. One warning: I usually proof-read but now I just can't. Sorry about the possible mistakes.
> 
> This is just a small reminder about the nature of sick humans.
> 
> ps. I accidentally pressed "x" and gave myself a slight heart attack.

**Motel Room in Hibbing, Minnesota, July 7th, 7:30PM**

”Bride suite?” Eren questioned the huge room as he finally found his way to the right room. Levi hadn’t approved any of the motels they visited and now they were occupying a bride suite room. “Why…”

Levi lifted his hand. “They didn’t have other rooms. It’s super fucking clean and I think we can share a bed without any problems. Besides, you’re virgin. You’re not going to jump me in the middle of the night.”

Eren blushed. He certainly didn’t mean that. But he hadn’t shared bed with anyone since he was five years old. This was going to be awkward “But you might jump me.”

“Did I say I was gay?” Levi asked and dumped his small luggage on the left side of the bed. “Hope you’re fine with that side.”

Eren resisted the urge to walk up to Levi and slap him again. “Do you… Do you sleep with strangers like this?” he asked and tiptoed towards small kitchenette. He did appreciate the kitchenette though. Just that… everything was painted in pink and golden. “Do you like pink?”

“No, I do not like pink. Do I look like someone who would throw pink sparkly shit everywhere?” Levi sighed and typed something with his phone. “I thought we were past that stranger stage already. I mean I don’t know how shitty your memory is, but we’ve been travelling together for a week now.”

Eren pouted and turned his eyes away from Levi. “So? Do you know what is happening here?” he asked from Levi who was still tapping with his phone. “Who are you texting with?”

“Petra. I don’t know. She said it was better if we came to see her and talk face-to-face,” Levi said and threw his phone on a nightstand with small thump. “She sounded pretty spooked when I last talked with her.”

Eren hummed quietly. So it was a girl. “Is… Is she your girlfriend?” he asked carefully. Eren was curious, very curious. To his eyes it didn’t look like Levi could have a girlfriend. He was rude and an asshole. He also liked to make jokes about poop. It was literally the only thing that wasn’t mature about Levi fucking Ackerman. It almost pissed Eren off for no reason, really. He just seemed like a little kid compared to Levi. “Or wife?”

Levi looked at Eren. “What? No. You didn’t even include a friend as a question,” he sighed and shook his head. “She is married and she has a kid. Not my kid, before you even ask your shitty questions.”

Eren rolled his eyes and cracked open a water bottle he had been saving up since they had passed Iowa. “To be honest, you don’t seem like a guy who would have a girl and a kid.”

Levi cocked his eyebrow. “And you don’t look like a guy who is 22 years old and a virgin. Oh maybe you do, you got that dumbass look in your eyes every single time I say something that even might sound pervert. You look like your head is about to explode from embarrassment.”

“I-I can do fe-few things!” Eren defended himself and crinkled his nose. To be fair, he had never even kissed anyone. Well, he did kiss his mother’s cheek but that doesn’t really count.

Levi had a challenging look in his eyes. “Oh? Do tell me. I’m all ears for your sweet sounds.”  
Eren blushed again and turned his back to Levi in embarrassment. “We-well…” he murmured, trying to think of something he would be good at. “I-I’m really good at kissing. Like you know, I’ve been told many times that I… That they have never gotten such a great kiss,” he mumbled quietly, picking his hair that was falling over his green eyes. Oh god.

Levi smirked and with few steps he was standing behind Eren. “Really? Can you prove it to me?”

Eren almost choked on his own spit. What? WHAT? Levi wanted some proof? Come on, make another believable lie. “I, uhm, Armin knows. I kissed him once,” he spoke quickly, not wanting to look at Levi’s face at the moment. “It… It happened a year ago. We were both pretty drunk.”

“No. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to kissing,” Levi corrected Eren. He turned Eren to look at him, looking at his wide eyes with amusement. This kid was so screwed. “I said prove it. Kiss me. I can tell if you are good or not.”

If it was possible, Eren blushed even more. “Th-that, but, you, guy… You’re a guy, Levi,” he stammered, almost feeling a little faint. He needed that fresh air now. Holy shit, Levi was asking him to kiss him in a damn bride suite. “I thought you said you weren’t gay!”

“I didn’t deny it. Besides you kissed Armin and I think that is a guy’s name,” Levi reasoned to Eren and pulled him down a little, so that they were in the same eye level. “You should have more confidence. I mean you did say you’re a great kisser. Be a man of your words,” Levi purred to Eren’s ear quietly and he could almost feel the boy shivering in front of him. “Come on. I can be submissive just this once.”

Eren’s brains were hardly even functioning anymore. He tried to angle his head better and he really wasn’t sure how this kissing worked. He had seen it many times but… Luckily to Eren, Levi tilted his head a little so it was easier to Eren find a right position for his own head. Eren placed his trembling hands on Levi’s shoulders and placed his lips sloppily and gently to Levi’s lips. It didn’t even last five seconds before Eren pulled away. “S-see? I’m good.”

Levi nodded. “Yeah. If you were a kid,” he admitted with cheeky smirk on his lips. “Don’t tell me that was your first kiss?” he asked. When Eren didn’t answer him, Levi let out a low whistle. “Wow.”

“I’m going to sleep,” Eren huffed and went to change into his pajamas and t-shirt. “You’re an asshole, you know that?”

Levi shrugged his shoulders and followed Eren to the bed. “I’ve been told that a lot. But you know, this just leaves shitty taste in my mouth if we don’t do it correctly. Let me show you how it’s done,” Levi said and pushed Eren on the bed easily, crawling over him. He straddled his hips, looking at Eren’s terrified face.

“He-hey! Get off,” Eren whimpered and tried to shove Levi away from him.

Levi pinned Eren’s hands above his head and leaned down so that Eren could feel Levi’s minty breath on his face. “Stop. I promise you something. This will be good, adult level good,” he said and leaned down for a kiss. Levi felt Eren’s breath hitch and his body tense from nervousness. Levi moved his lips expertly on Eren’s unresponsive lips. He almost rolled his eyes and moved his hands to cups Eren’s face. He had to remember that Eren was just a clueless virgin who had no idea what to do. So he would coax him. Levi stroked Eren’s cheek and after a while he started to relax into kiss and move his lips carefully. Good. Levi swiped his tongue along Eren’s lower lip and he earned a gasp from the younger boy. Levi started to explore his mouth with his tongue and he let his hands wander to Eren’s shoulders, minding the healing wound on his way. He travelled lower. Levi's hands then slid under his shirt, slowly, rhythmically exploring his navel, abdomen, and chest. Suddenly he pulled away to look at Eren’s dilated eyes and flushed expression.

“Asshole,” Eren rasped and pushed Levi away from him. He cringed when he felt warm feeling in his lower stomach. Come on, think something nasty. Dead puppies with their guts ripped out. Levi’s guts ripped out. _Okay, good, it’s starting to fade away._

“But it was good, right?” Levi chuckled and changed into his sleepwear. “You actually are pretty adorable with your hissing and wild cat attitude; wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Eren blushed and hid his face with a pillow. He mumbled a quick goodnight even though he really didn’t get any sleep that night.

 

**Petra’s and Oluo’s house, Hibbing, July 8 th, 10:15AM**

“You look like shit, Eren,” Levi commented as they stood in front of Bossard household. ”Rough night?” he asked with mischievous grin plastered on his face. He brought his finger to buzz a doorbell in front of them.

Eren dismissed Levi’s remark about looking shitty. He was pretty sure he looked shitty. “It was your fault. I was moping over the loss off my first kiss. I shared my first kiss with an asshole. Fucking great.”

“Whoa, bite your tongue right there. You were giving me a challenge by lying that you’re a good kisser,” Levi said and turned to look at Eren better. The younger one had slight bags under his eyes and it almost looked like he had been crying last night. It could be also from smoking weed or getting really drunk.  “It was good anyways so why are you complaining…”

Just as Eren was about to retort something, a petite woman opened the door in front of them. He turned to look at her. She had strawberry blonde hair that was reaching her neck. And her eyes were big, like really big. All in all, this woman was extremely pretty.

“Ah, Levi! you’re early,” Petra smiled brightly and let them come in. “Oluo is at work so I’m home with Annabel,” she sighed, asking them to remove their shoes. “Oh, right,” she suddenly piped up and looked at Eren, “you’re probably Eren. My name is Petra Bossard. Oluo and I used to work with Levi but we retired and decided to have a family instead. You probably understand.”

Levi quickly waved Petra’s words off so that Eren wouldn’t feel bad about not understanding. All Eren ever had is this business anyway. “So, Annabelle saw what happened?” he confirmed as Petra led them to a spacy living room. Everything was painted in warm colors. Three walls were painted in chocolate brown color and one wall was orange. The orange wall had TV on it. “Is she alright?”

Eren sat on the couch with Levi and Petra took a seat on a coffee table in front of them. “Well… I tried to explain to her that she just had a bad nightmare but that kid is a little bit too sharp. Plus, Oluo and I are horrible liars. Annabelle! Could you come downstairs for a minute, please?!”

Levi exchanged a small look with Eren when they heard light steps approaching them. A small girl entered the living room. She was like a copy of Petra, but her hair was a shade lighter and a lot longer too. “Hey Annabelle. Do you remember me?” Levi asked and the girl took cover behind Petra. “I think she does…”

Petra giggled quietly. “Okay, Annabelle. Why don’t you tell Eren and Levi what happened while you were waiting me in our car?” she asked her gently, trying to pull her from behind her. “They will make all the bad monsters go away.”

When Annabelle didn’t move anywhere, Eren decided to circle Petra and kneel in front of her. “Are you a princess, Annabelle?” he asked the girl with the most childlike face he could pull off. He tried to ignore Levi’s amused gaze at this point. They needed the information.

“Yes,” Annabelle nodded and looked at Eren’s face with a slight pout. She was pretty sure princes knelt down in front of princesses. “Are you a prince, then?” she asked.

Eren nodded and gave a small kiss to Annabelle’s hand. “Indeed I am, milady. Now, could you tell me what happened so I can banish the evil with my servant Levi?”

When Levi was about to get up from the sofa, Petra sent him a very icy glare that made Levi sunk further into sofa. If Petra didn’t know Levi better, she would say he was pouting.

“I heard this… weird sound,” Annabelle started that piqued now Levi’s interest also.

“Okay… What did it sound like?” Eren coaxed and searched Annabelle’s eyes with his own. He sure hoped that whatever Annabelle saw would not affect her in the future.

“Like a monster…”

“Did you see it?” Eren asked, brows knitting together in thought.

“No. But I saw it grab the old man. It pulled him underneath the car.”

“What happened next?” Eren tried. That would be definitely not enough information.

“It took him away. I heard the monster leaving. It made this really scary sound,” Annabelle said and clutched Petra’s shirt tighter.

“What kind of sound?” Eren almost sighed. Interviewing kids was probably the worst thing that could happen in this line of work.

Annabelle seemed to be in deep though until she said: “Like it was whining and growling at the same time.”

“That’s all?” Eren smiled sweetly which only made Annabelle blush and nod. “Don’t worry. I will slay the bad monster,” Eren said and got up from the floor. He gave thumbs up to Levi. Finally he did something better than the asshole.

Levi got up from the sofa. “Okay, I think that’s it then. I’ll call you if we find anything, Petra.”

“Yeah, thanks. Keep me tuned,” Petra smiled. “Coffee?”

 

**The Bar, Hibbing, July 8 th, 8:03PM**

“Maybe this isn’t our gig,” Levi said as he was sipping his whiskey in front of Eren. He glanced at the half empty beer glass Eren had. “It could be just a normal kidnapping. You know how kids are with their imagination. They are worse than your horse faced friend.”

Eren took out his laptop. “I was actually doing research while you were busy napping. This place holds a lot of local folklore about a dark figure that comes out at night. Grabs people, and then vanishes. This county has more missing persons than anywhere else in the state. This is a good hunting ground of a phantom attacker.” he explained and started to click on the bookmarks he had made.

“Okay… That is weird.Don’t phantom attackers usually snatch people from their beds? The victim,” Levi started and glanced at a paper on their table, “I mean Richardson was taken from a parking lot,” Levi said, forgetting his drink for a while.

Eren scratched his head. “Well, there are all kinds. You know, Springhill Jacks, phantom gassers. They take people anywhere, anytime. Look, Levi, I don’t know if this is our kind of gig either but…”

“Yeah, you’re right, we should ask around more tomorrow,” Levi nodded and downed his drink in one go. “I’m going back to the motel.”

“Hey hold on. Let’s have a one more round. It’s still early,” Eren whined from Levi who only spared him a one glance. “Please?”

Levi sighed quietly. “Alright. Just get my notebook from the car,” he said and gave Eren his car keys. “I’ll wait.”

Eren beamed a little and slipped out of his seat. He quickly got out of the bar and strolled towards the car. Levi heaved a long sigh. It was a good thing that Eren didn’t seem bothered about the kiss anymore. Then again, it could just be the alcohol in Eren’s system that made him more cheerful.

The minutes tick by slowly and Levi glances at his wristwatch. 08:50PM. What was taking him so long? Levi sighed and got up from the chair. He walked to his car with slight confusion written all over his face. “Are you fucking kidding me?” he breathed out and fished his keys from the ground. “Eren!” he tried yelling his name but there was no answer. Even the notebook was still in car. “Well, shit.”

 

**Sheriff’s Department, Hibbing, July 9 th, 8:12AM**

Levi was flashing his ID (Gregory Washington) to a sheriff in front of him. The sheriff was looking at Levi rather suspiciously. “So, what can we do for you, Officer Washington?” she asked with slightly mocking tone which Levi didn’t appreciate at all. She was clearly younger than him anyways. Why were all the damn sheriffs always women? What was wrong with this country?

“I’m working on the missing persons,” Levi explained and tucked the ID back to his breast pocket.

“I didn’t know the Richardson case was being covered by the state police,” the sheriff smiled sweetly, leaning on the counter in front of her.

Levi quickly regained his composure after the hidden insult from the sheriff. “Oh, no. No, there’s someone else. Actually, it’s my friend. We were having a few last night at this bar down by the highway. And I haven’t seen him since. Disappeared like dust in the wind.”

“Does your friend have a drinking problem?” the sheriff asked with extremely bored tone and started flipping through the files slowly.

Her voice was starting to tick Levi off. And her face. She had so many pimples that it wasn’t even funny. Her voice sounded like it was oozed from a goddamn helium bottle. “Eren? God no. I swear he’d be sleeping after three beers.”

“Alright. What’s his name?

“Jaeger. Eren Jaeger.”

“Jaeger… As in Jaegermaister?” she asked in puzzled tone as she was typing on a computer.

Levi nodded. “Yes. Just the Jaeger part,” he added just in case and glanced around quickly. Levi couldn’t believe this. This was the third case and Eren was already messing around and getting himself in trouble. He was here to learn, not mess up.

“Well, he’s not showing up in any current field reports.”

“I have a lead already. I saw a surveillance camera by the highway.”

“The county traffic cam?”

“Right. Yeah. I’m thinking the camera picked up whatever took him. Or, whoever…” Levi corrected quickly, almost biting his tongue. _Focus, Levi, focus._

“Well, I have access to the traffic cam footage down at the county works department, but… Well, anyhow, let’s do this the right way,” she said and started to dig out some paperwork from the cabinet behind her. “Why don’t you fill out a missing persons report and sit tight over here?”

Levi takes the papers with discomfort. “Officer… Look. I kind of promised to look after the kid. I promised his father to take care of him. Let me come see the cameras with you.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t do that.”

“Well, tell me something. Your county has its fair share of missing persons. Have any of them come back? Eren is my responsibility. And he is coming back. I’m bringing him back.”

 

**Sheriff’s Department, Hibbing, July 9th, 9:33AM**

In the end Levi was forced to sit down outside while waiting for someone to tell him what is in that camera footage.

“I think we’ve got something.”

Levi shot up from his seat and looked at the sheriff who came to him with printouts of the footage. “Tell me.”

“These traffic cams take an image every three seconds, as part of the Amber Alert program. These images were all taken around the time that Jaeger disappeared,” the officer explained and gave the printouts to Levi.

Levi started leafing through the papers and sighed. “This isn’t what I’m really looking for…” he started quietly but was stopped by the officer.

“Just wait, wait—next one,” she said and pointed at the photo. In this photo there was an old rusty truck driving. “This one was taken right after Jaeger left the bar. Look at the back end of it. Now, look at the plates.”

Levi furrowed his eyebrows when he was trying to understand what she meant. “Oh, the plates look new. It’s probably stolen.”

“So, whoever’s driving that rust bucket must be involved.”

Levi sighed and stopped leafing through them when he heard a car driving by outside. He glanced out of the window next to them. It was an old van. The engine was making really annoying sound but them something clicked. “Do you hear that engine?”

“Yeah…” the sheriff mumbled in puzzled tone. She had no clue what the officer in front of her was getting at.

“Kind of a whining growl, isn’t it?”

“Sure…?”

“I’ll be damned,” Levi breathed quietly. The kid didn’t lie about the weird noise.

 

**Unknown location, 4:54PM**

“Are you… You wouldn’t happen to be Richardson?” Eren breathed out when he had regained his consciousness. That was literally the first thing he had in his mind. There was another man with him and they were both locked in some sort of cage. Richardson was in another cage, but near him anyways. “Hey, you alive?”

“I think I’m more alive than you at the moment. My name is Daryl Richardson. Are you alright?” Richardson asked from his cage and looked at Eren who was having hard time getting up from the floor.

Eren nodded. “I’m pretty used to these kinds of situations already. I’m good,” he replied and tried to figure out the mechanism of the cage. Kicking didn’t really help him. “Do you know where we are?”

“I don’t know. The countryside, I think. Smells like the countryside.”

Eren sighed and looked around. There were a lot of cages. It was only dimly lit so Eren couldn’t make out much of their current environment. “I was actually looking for you,” he confessed to Daryl who snorted in disbelief.

“Well, no offense, sir, but this is a piss-poor rescue.”

“Listen. My partner out there is looking for us. I’m sure he will find us. He’s pretty good at his job, you know.”

Daryl slammed his hand against the cage. “He’s not gonna find us. We’re in the middle of nowhere,” he hissed at Eren. Daryl nodded towards the door leading into the building. “Just waiting for them to come back and do God-knows-what to us.”

Eren furrowed his eyebrows and came closer to Daryl – or as much as the cage was letting him to come. “What are they? Have you seen them?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Whatever got us, what’d they look like?” Eren clarified and swallowed thickly at his grumbling stomach. He hadn’t eaten since last morning at Petra’s house. The breakfast had been god-sent.

The door was suddenly busted open. “See for yourself.” Daryl whispered quietly to Eren.

Two men wearing black coats and hats came inside. One of the men walked to Daryl’s cage and kicked the side of it roughly. The other one went to a panel of buttons attached to a pole in the middle of the room. He inserted a key into the panel and twisted it. Daryl’s cage unlocked. The men entered the cage while Daryl was screaming them to leave him alone. Eren noticed that the men just placed a plate of food in front of him and left the room after locking the cage again.

“I’ll be damned. They’re just people,” Eren breathed out quietly. This was actually worse than paranormal beings. Humans were almost the true monsters in this universe.

“Yeah.. What did you expect?”

Eren dismissed his question and pointed at the plate. “How often do they give you food?”

“Once a day. I think. It’s hard to tell with no clock.”

“And that’s the only time you see them?”

“So far. But I’m waitin’.”

Eren perked his ear at that remark. “What? Waiting for what exactly?”

“Ned Beatty time, man.”

Eren sighed again. Was this man taking anything seriously? He was probably referring to the character who was raped by murderous rednecks in the movie Deliverance. “I think that’s the least of your worries right now.”

“Well Mr. Genius. What do you think they want?”

“Depends on who they are,” Eren said and tried to reach for a small metal wire that was hanging from the ceiling. Damn, so close but so far.

“They’re a bunch of psycho hillbilly rednecks, if you ask me. Lookin’ for love in all the wrong places.”

_Yeah, definitely referring to the Deliverance._

 

**Unknown location, Sheriff’s car, 7:23PM**

Marie, Levi had learned the sheriff’s name, pointed to a passing traffic camera. “Okay, the next traffic cam is fifty miles from here, and the pickup didn’t pass that one, so…”

Levi made a small noise. “So, it must’ve pulled off somewhere. I didn’t see any other roads here,” he said as he tried looking at the map and out at the same time. It was proving a little bit difficult.

“Well, a lot of these backwoods properties have their own private roads... So it’s actually hard to find them.”

Levi made a noise again, this time more annoyed one. “Fucking great…”

New information popped up on Marie’s small laptop while they were driving. She clicked the highlighted item and brought up a page about Levi’s fake ID. She read it and pulled a slightly concerned face. “So, Gregory?”

“Yeah?” Levi asked and turned to look at Marie.

“I ran your badge number. It’s routine when we’re working a case with state police. For accounting purposes and everything.”

Levi tried not to look panicked. Oh shit. He had totally forgotten that little fact right there. They did that. It wasn’t the first time. “Mmhm, and?”

“And, uh, they just got back to me,” Marie informed and pulled the car over to the side of the road. “It says here your badge was stolen,” she informed and looked at Levi’s surprised features. “And there’s a picture of you.”

Levi swallowed thickly and looked at the screen Marie was pointing at. Oh my god. He saw a picture of a heavy African-American man. Even Levi wouldn’t be able to pull off this lie. No way in shitting hell. “Fuck.”

“Okay, get out of the car,” Marie sighed quietly and started to take off her seatbelt.

Levi grabbed her shoulder gently. “Wait. Please, wait. If you want to arrest me, that’s fine. I’ll cooperate, I swear. But, first, please, let me find Eren,” he pleaded. Since when was he faced with this kind of situation? Right, four years ago when Hanji fucked up their case.

“I don’t even know who you are. Or if this Eren person is missing.”

“Look into my eyes and tell me if I’m lying about this.”

“Identity theft? You’re impersonating an officer!”

Levi sighed and tried to figure out something. “Look! His father disappeared a while ago and he asked me to look after Eren. I made a promise. He is my fucking responsibility. Like it’s my job to keep him safe. I’m just afraid if we don’t find him fast… just… please.”

Marie sighed and looked at the small photo of her family at her visor. “I’m sorry. You’ve given me no choice. I have to take you in,” she started and Levi slumped down in defeat, “After we find your friend.”

Levi heaved a quiet sigh. Thank the lord it is a woman sheriff after all. They have emotions.

 

**Unknown Location, 8:23PM**

“What’s your name, again?”

“It’s Eren.”

“Why don’t you give up, Eren?”

Eren was still trying to pull down the metal wire. It had been hours. His hands were getting bloody and sweat was sticking to his t-shirt. He twists it in anger. Finally he tore the wire down from the ceiling. A small piece of metal fell on the floor along with it. “Don’t you dare tell me what to do,” he huffed and picked up the small bracket from the ground.

“What is it?”

“A bracket…”

“Well, thank God, a bracket. Now we’ve got ‘em, huh?” Daryl lashed out at Eren with sarcasm. Suddenly his cage is opened without a warning. “What the hell?” he mumbled quietly and climbed out from the cage. “Maybe you knocked somethin’ loose.”

Eren pales a little. “Wait. You probably should get back inside there,” he spits out before Daryl could run of for the door.

“What? Don’t you wanna get out of here?”

“Yeah. But that was way too easy.”

“Look, I’m gonna get out of here, and I’m gonna send you help, okay, don’t worry,” Daryl waves him off with a happy smile. He was a freeman for god’s sake.

“No, I’m serious. Daryl! This might be a trap!” Eren tries to say after Daryl who was already standing by the door.

“Bye, Eren,” Daryl said and then he was gone. Out of the door, just like that.

“Daryl!” Eren tried yelling after him, but it was no use.

On the other side of the door, Daryl found another room similar to the one he just left. He found an exit and left. In the other room, Daryl’s cage slammed shut and it startled Eren. Daryl found his way to outside and he walked around the outside of a rundown house. He looked around carefully and found a knife that was just ditched on a porch. ”I’ll be having this, thanks,” he murmured and after this he started to run into the woods. After a while he slowed his pace a little. He looked around and heard a small noise. Daryl raised his knife starting to run again, afraid that someone might be following him. He reached a clearing and took a big gulp of air.

Daryl looked around and realized that he was completely lost. Suddenly, a camouflaged man appeared and put his knife through Daryl’s leg, then removed it. Another camouflaged man appeared, and they both pointed their knives at Daryl, who was now weeping on the ground. Daryl got up and started to run away again. The men just watched him go and laughed. Daryl kept running but he tripped over a wire that was on the ground. The men caught up to him, raised their knives and started to stab him while laughing.

Eren felt like he could throw up after he heard Daryl’s painful screams. He should’ve listened to him.

 

**Edge of the forest, July 10 th, 5:23AM**

Levi suddenly perked up from his seat. “Wait. Pull over here,” he interrupted Marie. They pulled over and got out from the car. Levi started walking towards the forest and a small road. “It’s the first turn-off I’ve seen so far.”

“You stay here, I’ll check it out,” Marie said and stepped in front of Levi. “Alright. You promise you won’t get involved? You’ll let me handle it?”

Levi tried very hard not to tell something very shitty to that sassy officer but decided against it. “Deal.”

“Shake on it,” Marie said with a glint in her eyes. She extended her hand to Levi. When Levi took hold of her hand, Marie placed a set of handcuffs on Levi’s arm.

“What the shit?” Levi retorted with dangerously low voice. “You’re shitting me.”

Marie cuffed Levi to a handle of her police car. “This is for your own good. We don’t know what we might possibly find. So you stay put.”

Levi watched as she started to walk away. He reached his free hand to his jean’s pocket and fished out a paperclip. It was good to be prepared for everything.

 

**Rundown house, 5:40AM**

Marie passed a small rundown barn along with several wagon wheels strewn along the grass. She walked further and saw a dilapidated house. She carefully made her way to the house and knocked on the door. “Hello? Anybody home?”

The door is quickly opened. From inside emerged a small girl, not more than thirteen years old. She was wearing a patched up gown that was in a terrible need of washing. Her hair looked there could be literally worms having a party. She took quick steps towards Marie and at the same time Marie took few hesitant steps back. “Who are you?” the girl asked in monotone, trying to grab her badge.

“I’m, uh, I’m Marie. I’m a sheriff, actually. What’s your name?” Marie tried to smile gently. God, who was taking care of this child?

“Kathy.”

“That’s a nice name. Listen, Kathy, is your mom home?”

“She’s dead.”

Marie’s eyes widen a little. “I’m sorry. Is your dad home?” she asked. Kathy shook her head. “No? Can I come in for a minute?” Marie asked again but Kathy also shook her head. She started to back up towards the door. “I just want you to look at a picture,” Marie tried again and showed a picture of Eren to her. “Have you seen him?”

Kathy looked at the picture briefly but then looked up, behind Marie. She smiles widely, like a mad man. “That’s going to hurt.”

Marie is suddenly struck down by a man who swung a shovel at her head.

 

**Edge of the forest, 5:40AM**

Levi was in the middle of getting rid of the handcuffs. He twisted it expertly but it was trickier than he remembered. It was a long time since he had to actually free himself from handcuffs. This was ridiculous. He heard a noise of pickup truck and ducked down while trying to get out of the cuffs. “Son of a shit.”

Levi saw the pickup truck parking near the car he was currently cuffed with. Two men came out of the truck, chatting together. Levi took in their camouflaged clothes and faces. What the hell?

“Well, Joel, I’ve never seen him so angry before,” shorter of the two said with tinge of amusement in his voice.

“Well, Dylan, never been followed by the police before,” the taller one retorted and walked towards the police car. “We’ve got the keys now, though.”

By this time Levi had already managed to get out of the cuffs. The short man carefully backed towards the small road that hopefully led to Eren and Marie.

 

**Barn, 6:00AM**

Eren stared at the newcomer that was stuffed in Daryl’s old cage. He sighed quietly. This time it was a woman. So gender didn’t matter to them, alright. “Are you okay?” he asked, sitting cozily at one corner of his cage.

Marie looked up from her cage, trying to recognize the tired green eyes that were staring at her. “Yeah… I just got hit by a damn shovel, but I’m fine. You… You kind of look familiar. Are you Jaeger?”

Eren looked mildly surprised at the question. “Yup, the one and only.”

“Oh, great. Your friend was looking for you.”

Eren beamed and got up, only to hit his head to the roof of the cage. “Ouch. Oh, thank god. Where is he?” he asked from Marie and crawled closer to her. His only hope was here. Holy crap that was the best thing he had heard for a while.

“I, uh, I cuffed him to my car.”

“You… You what!?” Eren yelled at Marie, eyes wide with fear. So they were here, all alone, without Levi’s help. “Why the hell would you do that?!”

They heard the barn door open and both of them shut their mouths. Eren tried to look towards the door but he could only see one set of feet. Marie was also trying to look who came inside but she saw the same as Eren: one set of feet and dark jeans.

“Well this place… Holy fuck this is disgusting,” Levi commented at the filthy state of barn. There was a bathtub next to a wall and it looked like someone had been butchered in that bathtub. The smell was getting to Levi’s nostrils as he finally reached Eren’s cage and looked inside. “You hurt? The fuck are you laughing about?”

Eren indeed had started laughing when he had recognized Levi’s voice. “It’s… It’s just that I’m fucking glad to see you here,” he commented and tried to suffocate his laughter.

“How did you get out from the cuffs?” Marie asked Levi from the opposite side of Eren. She was baffled by the looks of it.

Levi shot an ugly glare at the sheriff. “You know, I can do a shitty trick or two,” he spat at Marie. Levi circled Eren’s cage until he was met with a set of locks. He fingered them gently, trying to figure out how they work. “Oh, these locks look like they’re going to be a bitch.”

Eren pointed at the control panel he saw earlier being used. “They use that to open the gates. It’s some sort of automatic thing. You might need the key to do it though, I’m not sure.”

“Okay, first things first; Have you seen them?” Levi asked from Eren as he tried to figure out the control panel.

“They’re just people. Normal human beings,” Eren sighed from his cage and tried kicking it again in frustration. “Nothing supernatural here. You were right. It wasn’t our gig.”

Levi snorted from the panel. “And they jumped you in a fucking parking lot? You really are getting rusty. Maybe it’s my company that makes you fucking useless. Do you know what they want?”

Eren rolled his eyes. Right, work. Levi was all about work. “No. They let Richardson go, but that was some sort of trap. It doesn’t make any sense to me,” he told Levi, trying to hold in his tears. “I could’ve stopped him. I probably could’ve but he just ran away!”

“You know, with our usual playmates, there are rules, there are patterns. But with people, they’re just batshit crazy,” Levi glanced at Eren. “Don’t you dare shed a single tear now. I’m getting you two out of here and we’ll take care of those sons of bitches.”

Eren took a deep breath. “Okay, what’s outside?”

“They have about a dozen junked cars hidden out back. Plates from all over, so I’m thinking’ when they take someone, they take their car, too. This comes back to the fact that they didn’t take my car with you. Eren, this panel definitely needs a key. I need to go find it. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m away, okay?”

Eren pouted. “Just… Be careful,” he mumbled quietly and sat back down. He could wait. He had waited a long time already.

Levi rolled his eyes at Eren’s request and left the barn quietly. Levi fished out a small flashlight from his pocket and looked around the dark house. It was clearly connected to the barn. He found himself in very hideous room that was filled with glass jars which contained various body parts.

He continued forward and came across a wall full of Polaroid pictures. Who uses Polaroid pictures anymore? Each photo showed Joel and Dylan standing next to a dead human body. Levi had seen these kinds of pictures before. Yeah, Erwin used to hunt animals and he took pictures like this. He noticed one of them holding Richardson’s body with a big grin plastered on his face. “Okay, I get it. Demons, I understand, but humans, you guys are just fucking crazy.”

Levi moved towards a flight of stairs. He climbed them up carefully, minding the squeaky noise they made under his weight. When he reached the upstairs, he heard classical music. No matter how much Levi enjoyed the music, he had a job he had to focus on. Levi looked around quickly, only seeing lots and lots of antique junk strewn across the molding walls.

Levi furrowed eyebrows at the sound. It was like someone was butchering a piece of meat. His chest tightened a little. Maybe they were cannibals? That would explain the jars. Oh my god he sure hoped they hadn’t fed Eren anything at all. What the hell, was that wind chime made of human bones? Were these people truly just people? Levi grabbed a small wooden pole so that it would give him a small sense of security as he passed the butcher who was truly butchering meat, back turned to Levi. Probably Richardson’s meat. He noticed a set of keys on the kitchen counter and mentally cursed. Of fucking course. He moved towards the tray of keys, and started to pick it up when he noticed a jar full of teeth. He examined it briefly. Levi was disgusted by it. Suddenly he heard the floor creak behind him. Levi whipped around and saw a small girl pointing a knife at him. “Shh, I’m not going to hurt you shithead. Just shut the fuck up, okay?” he asked, probably not having the best choice of words right there.

“I know,” the girl giggled and stabs the knight into Levi’s jacket, trapping him into a wall. “Dad! Daddy!” she started yelling from where she was standing.

“You shitty kid!” Levi hissed quietly at the girl. He removed the knife quickly, thanking god it didn’t hit him. Then he is knocked down by a man lot taller than him and Eren. He recognizes this guy as Joel. The shorter one, Dylan, came to him and kicked the knife away from his hands. Levi got up quickly, kicking Dylan down rather easily. He is taken back by Joel who crashed him against a wall. “Hey, hey. Let’s take this down a one notch,” he hissed and kicked Joel’s groin, making him fall down. “I need those fucking keys.”

It doesn’t take Levi long to find himself sitting in a wooden chair with rope around him. He was being too confident – there were three guys and one little girl. What could’ve he done?

“Come on. Let us hunt him,” Dylan moaned behind the man called “The Daddy”. Levi hadn’t yet caught his name.

“Yeah, this one’s a fighter. Sure would be fun to hunt,” Joel joked next to him.

Levi grunted quietly. “What the hell? Is this what it’s about? You hunt humans?” Levi asked from the quartet in front of him. Oh boy, Eren would be dead rather quickly then, along with that Marie.

The Daddy looks down at Levi with wicked grin. “Have you ever killed anyone? Oh boy. I’ve hunted all my life; animals mostly. But the best hunt is human. Oh, there’s nothin’ like it. Holdin’ their life in your hands. Seein’ the fear in their eyes just before they go dark. Makes you feel powerful alive.”

Levi grunted quietly. Sure, he had killed people before but he had never felt anything like that. It made him feel sick in the gut. It was just another, pointless death. He understood Eren’s politics, he really did. “You guys are bunch of sickos.”

“We give ‘em a weapon. Give ‘em a fightin’ chance. It’s kind of like our tradition passed down, father to son. Of course, only one or two a year. Never enough to bring the law down, we never been that sloppy,” The Daddy laughed and patted Levi’s head.

Levi laughed a little. He was losing it, Eren was not worth this much. “Well you did sloppy job by catching my friend.”

“You think this is funny? You brought this down on my family. Alright, you wanna play games? We’ll play some games. Looks like we’re gonna have a hunt tonight after all, boys,” The Daddy grinned and pointed Levi with his fat and greasy finger. “And you can pick the animal. Will it be the cop or the boy?”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Levi breathed out when The Daddy came towards him with a hot poker. That was going to hurt and leave a mark. Suddenly the poker was right in front of his eyes. “Fuck! Take the guy. Take that shitty brat!” he yelled and the poker is lowered down.

“Joel. Go do it. Don’t let him out, though. Shoot him in the cage.” With that Joel is gone.

“Wait!” Levi yelled at the daddy person. “What? I thought you said you were going to hunt him. You were going to give him a fucking chance.”

“Joel! When you’re done with the boy, shoot the cop too!” The Daddy yelled after Joel.“Better clean this mess up before any more cops come runnin’ out here.”

Levi felt a slight panic surging. Oh shit. They can’t do anything in those cages. He practically set them up.

At the barn, Eren freaked out when an unknown guy came inside with a rifle. “Hey what the hell?!” he yelled when Joel suddenly unlocked his cage. Eren backed up against the corner, eyes wide with terror. Was Levi taken out? No fucking way. “Fuck off! What the fuck are you doing?!”

Joel aimed the gun to Eren’s head without saying a word.

“Jaeger!” Marie yelled.

Eren noticed the small bracket inside his cage and he grabbed it quickly.

Levi flinched at the gunshot he heard from the barn. “Fuck,” he whispered quietly. _Oh, I don’t fucking cry, no fucking way I will._ “You hurt my friend, I’ll kill you, I swear. I’ll kill you all. I will kill you all!”

Eren had thrown the bracket at the rifle so he wasn’t hit by the bullet. Eren was very glad that he used to play baseball with his father when he had been small. Right now he was wrestling with Joel, trying to get the rifle knocked away. Finally Eren managed to get the rifle to himself and he knocked Joel unconscious with the back of it. Eren tried to re-load the rifle but it was out of bullets. Really? Was he going to shoot both of them with one bullet? What a fucking idiot. “Damn it,” he whispered and took the key from Joel’s neck. Eren went to the control panel and opened Marie’s cage too.

“Joel!” The Daddy yelled from the living room when Joel was taking a long time at the barn. “Dylan, you come with me. Kathy, you watch that kid there,” he said and the duo excited towards the barn with two rifles.

Eren hid himself behind a hay bale when they were opened by two people. He hold his breath and waited for the right moment.

“Goddamn. Dylan, turn on the lights,” The Daddy yelled when he saw Joel stuffed inside the cage that was occupied by Eren before.

“They plucked out the fuses!”

Eren put a hand over his mouth so that his rasped breath wouldn’t give him out. He glanced at Marie who was hunched down next to him. When both men stopped in front of hay bales and turned their back to the bales, Eren and Marie jumped on to their backs. This resulted in Eren being thrown down on the ground. Marie was still fighting with Dylan when Eren finally got up. The Daddy aimed a gun at him. Just as Eren was ducking down, Marie stepped in front of him and was shot at. Marie also ducked down and the bullet hit he Daddy instead of Marie and Eren. “Would you look at that…” Eren whispered and quickly took out Dylan with a piece of wood that was lying around. “Teamwork, booyah.”

Marie and Eren carried the two guys inside the cages and locked them with ease. “I’ll watch them. You go ahead,” Marie promised Eren and was aiming rifles at the cages. “You are worried about your friend, right? Go.”

Eren swallowed thickly and left the barn. It didn’t take long for Eren to find Levi and the little girl. Eren surprised the girl from behind and pushed him inside the closet. He locked the door with a piece of metal that was laying against the wall. “You set out to save me and how did it end up?” he chuckled quietly and helped Levi from his binds.

Levi flexed his muscles after his hands had been freed. “I must admit that I almost fucked up today,” he said and got up from the chair. He punched Eren’s healthy shoulder gently. “Good to see you alive and kicking.”

“I’m happy to see you alive and kicking also,” Eren said as they exited the house together. They were met up with Marie who had already called back-up to clean up the mess here.

“Where’s the girl?” Marie asked from Eren who told him that he had locked her in a closet. “Okay, good to see you guys okay.”

Eren nodded and started to follow Marie with Levi. He fell few steps behind with Levi. “Are you in trouble?” he whispered to Levi quietly who just nodded. “Where’s your car?”

“At the police station,” Levi sighed quietly. They didn’t have much cards to play with right now. “I swear, you’re more trouble than you’re worth.”

“So, state police and the FBI are gonna be here within the hour. They’re gonna wanna talk to you. I suggest that you’re both long gone by then,” Marie suddenly said over her shoulder and stopped walking. “Thank you. For your help.”

Eren suddenly coughed a little. “Thanks. Hey, listen, I don’t mean to press our luck, but we’re kind of in the middle of nowhere. Think we could catch a ride?”

“Your friend knows the way. Start walking. Duck if you see a police car.”

 

**The Motel Room, Hibbing, 10:10AM**

“You’ve got to promise me something, Eren,” Levi said to Eren he came from the shower. Levi started to dress quickly. He then continued toweling his hair and pointed his finger towards Eren. “Don’t you dare go missing like that. Ever again.”

Eren lifted his head from the comfy pillows. He was beat. He was extremely tired. He was also hungry but he didn’t want to complain right now nor did he have strength to complain. Eren had finished his shower half an hour ago. “Were you worried?”

Levi clicked his tongue and set the towel drying on a clothes rack. “All I’m trying to say that this is the last time I’m going to search for you if you go missing again,” he spat at Eren and walked towards the kitchen area. He cracked the fridge open and snatched a water bottle from there. Levi’s eye twitched when he heard Eren laugh from the bed.

“So, you got sidelined by a thirteen-year-old girl, huh?” Eren giggled quietly.

“Do you want me to want me to kick your ass?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you didn't expect that kiss at the beginning. It was just a kiss. Nothing emotional. You guys know how Levi is and how clueless Eren is. The kiss just came and went. We'll see how these two will cope in the future chapters.


	4. Did you know that...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “That’s a huge house,” Eren commented when they had parked in front of a white, big house. It was almost like a manor. The front garden was magnificent. Was that a dolphin made of roses? No way. He didn’t know that people used even roses to do these different sculptures.
> 
> “I’m betting on a blonde, blue-eyed, short-skirted chick that will try to hit on you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually had a lot of fun writing the first half of this chapter. I tried to be funny, I really tried. But at least I enjoyed writing it.  
> Oh by the way, have you checked out the new anime Death Parade? I saw the first episode today. It was really good. You should check it out. Please do, it was extremely interesting and I can't wait for the next episode.  
> NCIC: National Crime Information Center

**Minot, North Dakota, October 18 th, 2008**

_”Grisha! Where are you going?!” Levi ran after a tall man who just started to retreat from their porch. Hanji and Erwin were following Levi outside._

_Grisha turned to look at Levi and walked back to him with a sheepish smile. “Remember when I told you about my wife and my son? There might be something Texas… That… That might lead me to my wife’s killer,” he explained carefully, trying not to look at Levi’s storming eyes at this point._

_“What about that kid?” Levi asked and took out a cigarette. Man he really needed one right now. “You going to pick him up and do your little revenge trip together?” he asked with a lace of sarcasm. Levi didn’t believe in revenge. Revenge was something that could eat a whole human being alive. That was how psychopaths were born. He glanced Grisha’s features. Grisha wasn’t far from a psychopath if he kept doing stunts like these._

_“About that…” Grisha sighed quietly. “Could you go and find him? I’m worried about him.”_

_Levi’s eye twitched and he nearly punched Grisha straight in the face. Grisha was his mentor along with Erwin, but asking something this ridiculous was outrageous. “What the hell? Do you want me to go and play house with him? You better have a good shitting excuse for me to look after a damn kid!”_

_Grisha raised his hands in defense. “He’s already 19-years old. Technically he is not a kid anymore. I haven’t seen him in two years and-“_

_“Come on, Levi~~,” Hanji piped from the door and walked closer. “If Grisha asks you, it’s gotta be something important.”_

_“Why did you leave him in the first place if you’re so goddamn worried!?” Levi yelled at Grisha, not being able to keep his calm anymore. “What kind of shitty father are you!? You teach a small kid to hunt ghosts and then you just disappear!” he yelled and calmed down after Erwin pressed his shoulder. Fuck, that hand was so damn large._

_“Just… Just listen to me, Levi,” Grisha sighed quietly. “Can you please keep an eye on him? Please. I’m begging you.”_

**Conway, Arkansas, July 23 rd, 08:54AM **

“Did you know that in 1921, a man in Detroit went so far as to actually kill himself, apparently in order to then communicate with a chosen spiritualist medium, thus proving that the afterlife was real. It didn’t work.”

Levi cracked his eye open. What the hell? Levi spared a glance at the clock on his nightstand and groaned quietly. They were supposed have a day-off but Eren had woken up early, apparently. “I was sleeping,” he mumbled quietly and closed his eyes again. Why was Eren this cheery? He was usually the last one to get up from the bed.

Eren lifted his head from his laptop. “I know. I’ve been talking to you the past hour but you’ve been dead to the world. I brought you breakfast like five minutes ago so I decided to take a different approach. Apparently your brains react to everything paranormal even when you’re asleep,” Eren rambled and kept typing on his computer. “Come on, coffee is getting cold.”

Levi blinked and sat up slowly. “Are you high or something?” he asked with raspy voice. Damn, he needed some water. Or that coffee. Levi pulled a shirt over his head and walked to the table. “Why are you so fucking energetic?”

“Oh? Me?” Eren asked and pointed towards a small stack of energy drinks. “While you were asleep, I pulled an all-nighter. I guess my sleep deprivation is starting to take a toll on me along with those energy drinks but holy shit I feel good. I found really interesting case and I just couldn’t stop researching. And hey, did you know that 20% of children hear voices in their head?”

Levi sat down and examined what Eren had brought him from a café down the street. Coffee and applesauce French toast. Levi appreciated Eren’s taste in food but usually he preferred fruit-based breakfasts. Only fruit in this French toast was applesauce. “A case? We were supposed to have a day-off. We’ve been doing nothing but travelling all across the states. And no, I didn’t know any of that,” he said and glanced Eren’s breakfast. Yup, he knew it: blueberry waffles. It wouldn’t be Eren if he didn’t eat those for breakfast.

“No, wait, don’t shoot me down like that!” Eren wailed dramatically.

“I didn’t shoot you. Tell me first and then I can shoot you down. Besides, you need some goddamn sleep,” Levi sighed and took a bite of his toast. It wasn’t bad at all but Levi had his preferences. “We’re not leaving anywhere until you function like a normal human being.”

Eren grinned from ear-to-ear and held his finger up. “I swear to shit lord that you will not believe this. I feel like this might be Bloody Mary herself,” he smiled, tapping away with his laptop. “I already called Armin that we are going there. He actually e-mailed it to me.”

Levi made a pledge to kill Eren’s contact for disturbing them on a day-off. He was getting old. “Just get to the point, please?”

“Right. So there was this man who was killed inside the house. Or well, his eyes started bleeding and then just died. Just like that. The daughter saw him dying. We will probably have to visit the morgue,” Eren mumbled quietly and started packing his things. “Come on, let’s go.”

Levi hadn’t even finished his coffee yet. “Hold on, shithead. I said we are not going anywhere until you get some sleep. The car ride would be torture.”

Eren fished his keys from the table. “No. We’re going now or you won’t see your car anymore.”

 

**Road 57, July 23 rd, 11:11AM**

“Levi, make a wish! It’s 11:11!”

Levi glared at Eren as hard as he could. He saw Eren slumping down on his seat extremely quickly. He hated this. He hated Eren. He hated this job. He hated this radio channel. He hated Armin. He hated Eren’s laptop. He hated this shitty place called Earth. All because Eren didn’t go to sleep like he had wanted to. Levi tried his best not to get agitated. How did he let this shitty kid control him around? How did this even happen?

“Did you know that ants closely resemble human manners:  When they wake up, they stretch and appear to yawn in a human manner before taking up the tasks of the day,” Eren said after a long silence, staring Levi with wide eyes. “That is like holy shit awesome. Maybe our relatives are not monkeys but ants! That information could change the whole world upside down!”

Levi had to decide something. Do not let Eren drink energy drinks ever again. There were few reasons to that. First one was pretty clear. Eren was pissing him off with all his talking. That was a good excuse. Now the second one was more medical one. Drinking many cans of that liquid is not good for your heart. And the third one was also obvious, they smelled terrible. Their whole motel room had smelled like ultimate hardcore gamer’s game room. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as the reek of alcohol but it still smelled pretty awful. It didn’t smell like fun.  Levi did wonder where Eren got this all information. He didn’t go to school after he was twelve, right? Grisha probably taught him all this useless scientific shit.

“This is also kind of really freaky but The Black Widow spider eats her mate during or after sex. That is like the biggest reason why I think women are pretty scary and I really prefer men over women.”

Levi wanted to bash his head into the wheel. But no, Levi had to act like an adult at this point. Maybe he should offer Eren a bottle of wine. Alcohol made Eren tired. Levi furrowed his brows. That would be a great idea if his insides weren’t filled with caffeine. That might be a bad idea after all. “Could you just-“

“And then some lions mate like 50 times a day! Just think how-“

“Could you just shut up!” Levi snapped at Eren. He didn’t need to know how many times lions mate. Really, he did not.

It had been 30 minutes of silence now. Holy shit, was Eren asleep? Levi spared a small glance at Eren. Oh you’ve got to be kidding me. “Are you crying?” he asked in disbelief. “Why the fuck are you crying?”

“You never listen to me!” Eren cried at Levi. He was like woman throwing a fit at her husband once a month.  “I was just trying to keep you entertained but I do everything wrong all the time! Why am I not good enough for you?!”

Levi decided that he shouldn’t have asked why Eren was crying. He shouldn’t have asked him to shut up. He could deal with the random facts but this – nope. He wouldn’t be able to handle this for seven or eight more hours. How do you deal with women? Oh god, Levi had no idea. Hanji was never like this. Petra had been but it was never directed to him. “Alright, I’m sorry I-“

“Sorry just won’t cut it, Levi Ackerman!” Eren cried out and slapped his hand. “You’re the worst person I have ever had to share a same ride with! I hope you were a giraffe because they don’t have vocal chords!”

Levi had to pull his car to the side of the road. He didn’t know what kind of stunts Eren could pull when he was like this. “Listen. You’re extremely tired. Do you want to go lay down to the backseats?” he asked carefully. If Levi was lucky, Eren would comply and just go to the backseats.

Eren nodded miserably and switched to backseats. Levi watched as Eren laid down there with a small blanket draped over his shoulders. “Le-Levi. Could you put the radio out?”

Levi sighed and turned off the radio. “Just get some sleep. I’ll wake you up when we are in Ohio.”

 

**Road 71, July 23 rd, 7:11PM**

“Are we there yet?”

Levi heard a sleepy grumble from the backseat. He glanced at the lump on the seats through his rearview mirror. “Three more hours. We’re in Cincinnati right now. But we are in Ohio if that helps,” he mumbled quietly as Eren climbed back to the passenger’s seat. “Are you feeling better?”

Eren buried his face into his hands. “I feel like I’m dealing with a huge hangover. I think it just might be caffeine hangover though,” he explained quietly. He cracked the window open so that he could get some fresh air. “Have we stopped at all?”

“I took one stop while you were sleeping. There’s bag of chips. You probably just need some salt and water,” Levi said and pointed at a small bag on the backseat along with a bottle of water. Sometimes Levi felt like a real babysitter but oddly enough, he didn’t mind it. If it was anyone else, Levi would have minded a lot. “Just don’t mess my car with crumbles and grease, please.”

Eren reached for the bag and bottle. “Yes, sir,” he smiled gratefully. After he had almost emptied the whole bag and a bottle of water, he turned to look at Levi. “You know, I didn’t really mean it.”

“Mean what?” Levi asked with a quiet sigh.

“That I hoped you were a giraffe…”

Levi tried not to laugh at Eren’s statement. That was actually freaking adorable. “You know what? I can’t even be mad at you for that insult,” he chuckled quietly. He liked this kind of Eren a lot better. “Out of all insults, you picked out a giraffe. Where did you even learn all that stuff?”

Eren blushed gently and turned to look away from Levi. “From Armin. Every time I visit, he has a bunch of facts he just throws at me. Pretty much in the same fashion as I did to you.”

Levi nodded. So Armin was just all in all very super-energetic? He didn’t want to meet him, not really. “So, now that you’re acting normal… Could you explain properly to me, what is going on in Toledo?”

Eren took a deep breath. “Okay. A man, 43 years old, was found dead from his own house. The room he died in was a bathroom. His daughter had exclaimed that her father’s eyes were just suddenly bleeding and he collapsed. So I was digging out some similar cases and they all brought me to one conclusion, which is: Bloody Mary.”

“Finally. Now I actually understand a little bit better. I almost started to think that I’m driving all the way to Ohio without any good proof that there might be something paranormal going on,” Levi sighed in relief. That was good. “And tomorrow morning we will visit the morgue, right?”

“Right.”

“Can you promise me something?”

“No more energy drinks, I got it.”

“Good.”

 

**The Morgue, Toledo, 24 th of July, 09:00AM**

“The article said his daughter found him. She said his eyes were bleeding,” Eren stated to the autopsy doctor who was pulling back the sheet over victim’s face.

The doctor almost laughed and pointed at his eyes. “You know, it’s more than just bleeding. His eyes were practically liquefied.”

Eren tried not to cringe at the sight in front of him. Dead humans were never nice things to see. Especially when their eyes were… like that. He couldn’t even describe it. It was as if someone had pushed his eyeballs into a smoothie mixer and then poured everything back into the sockets. “Was there any signs of struggle?”

The doctor shook his head. “He was home alone with his daughter. So basically, alone when this happened.”

Eren didn’t know that going into morgue meant that he would go alone, without Levi. Levi was waiting outside the hospital. Maybe this was the punishment, but god he didn’t deserve any of this. Next time Levi will go alone and Eren would make sure it is the most gruesome case they had ever encountered. “What is the official cause of death?” he asked, trying to breathe normally.

“To be honest, I’m not very sure. I was thinking about a massive stroke, maybe an aneurysm? Something burst up in there, that's for sure,” the doctor explained with a small smile. “Agent Clinton? Do you need some fresh air?”

“No, I’m fine. I’ve been just off-duty for a while and it always takes some time to adjust…” Eren slipped out a small white lie. Well, it was partially true. It always took time to adjust but holy shit he had never been off-duty. He wasn’t an agent either, so technically he was a pretty big ass liar. “What do you mean about, bursting?”

“Intense cerebral bleeding. This guy had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen.”

Eren was starting to feel a little faint. Oh but he will do this. He will not faint. That would be so embarrassing. Levi would never lay him off for fainting in a morgue. “What would cause something like that?”

“Capillaries can burst. I have seen a lot of bloodshot eyes with stroke victims.”

“Yeah but… His eyeballs have exploded. Does that happen often? Could I look at the police report also?”

 

**Outside the Morgue, Toledo, 11:12AM**

“Was it that bad?” Levi chuckled and munched French fries when Eren finally emerged from the building. “Warn me if you’re going to throw up.”

Eren shoved the copy of police report to Levi. “I had to poke his eyes with a straw. Or what was left of it. Doctor suggested that I’d understand better,” he breathed out shakily.

“But did you faint?” Levi smirked and started reading the report. He gave rest of his fries to Eren. “Trust me, eating will help a little. Wait, you didn’t bring the copy of medical report?”

“No I didn’t. I didn’t think you would need a report of fucking exploding eyeballs,” Eren huffed and started eating the fries. It helped. It really did. The first bite was already making him feel better. “We will need to go talk to the daughter. It’s the most logical decision at this point,” he said and flexed his neck. “Did you get these fries just for me? Because I swear you haven’t eaten even the half of these.”

“Shut up,” Levi huffed at Eren’s question about the fries. Technically he had bought them for Eren but he ate a few while waiting for him. “Let’s go see the daughter and hope there haven’t been any F.B.I agents who have already visited her.”

Eren smiled lightly at Levi. “I'm glad you're not a giraffe.”

“I said shut up about the damn fries already.”

 

**The Victim’s House, Toledo, 1:33PM**

“That’s a huge house,” Eren commented when they had parked in front of a white, big house. It was almost like a manor. The front garden was magnificent. Was that a dolphin made of roses? No way. He didn't know that people used even roses to do these different sculptures.

“I’m betting on a blonde, blue-eyed, short-skirted chick that will try to hit on you.”

“What?” Eren sputtered and got out of the car. “You’re not serious.”

Levi let out small laugh as he got out of the car after Eren. “I’m just saying that don’t jizz your pants if she starts flirting with you. I’m only warning you. I bet you don’t want to lose your virginity to a one-night stand. And you can only have one-night stands in this line of work.”

“So you’re saying I will be a virgin forever?” Eren asked from Levi when they started walking towards the door.

“Yeah. You don’t seem like a type who would go for one-night stands.”

“True,” Eren murmured. He was a little bit old-fashioned, he had to admit it. “No sex till marriage was my mother’s ideology.”

Levi knocked on the door. “No offense to your dead mother, but that ideology sucks. You will never know if you’re comfortable having sex with someone. You get married and the sex doesn't work. That is the first step of a corrupted marriage.”

Eren shut his mouth. Levi had just insulted his mother. But then again, he did have a point. “Do you mean that sex doesn't… you know…”

Levi rolled his eyes. “It’s just like kissing. You didn't like kissing me, right? So that means you wouldn't be comfortable kissing me. It’s the same with sex. Do you understand?” he asked and shut his mouth immediately when the door was opened.

Eren turned his eyes towards the door with a slight blush decorating his cheeks. Levi was right about everything except about the miniskirt. She was only wearing bikini top and a pair of short shorts. “Agent Clinton and Agent Ferguson. We are here to ask you about your father,” Eren stuttered out and tried looking anywhere but at the huge boobs in front of his face. Holy shit, those weren't probably even real.

“Oh my god, please arrest me. It was my entire fault!” the girl in front of them cried out and latched onto Eren’s shoulders.

Levi’s eyes widened. Either she was serious about that or she just wanted Eren to arrest her and she had some kinky F.B.I agent fantasy. “Miss, if you could please get a hold of yourself and explain what happened.”

The girl composed herself extremely slowly. “My name is Lori,” she sniffled. “But you probably knew that already,” Lori breathed out with a small smile that almost looked like fake to Levi. “I-I… I… Before it happened Chelsea said it three times. I swear, I didn't know it would work. It was just a stupid prank we did with the other girls.”

Oh, Eren knew it already. “What did you say? And where?”

“My friends were over my house and we were just playing around. Then I dared Chelsea to say Bloody Mary three times in front of our bathroom’s mirror. Mary took my dad's eyes. That’s what she does!” Lori cried out again and landed on Eren, **again**.

Levi rolled his eyes. Yes, Eren was right about this the whole time but this whole situation was getting ridiculous. “Okay, I think we've got everything we needed. Miss Lori, could you show us the crime scene and then leave. It’s better if you stayed somewhere else than in this house right now.”

After Lori had shown them around, she locked herself in her own room. “She gave me her number,” Eren whispered and showed him a piece of paper. “She slipped it in my back pocket,” he mumbled when they we were walking up the stairs.

“And she didn't leave when I asked her to leave,” Levi sighed quietly. It wasn't his fault if that girl was murdered by Bloody Mary now. “Are you going to give her call?” he asked and opened the bathroom door. The cleaners hadn't come yet.

“Should I?” Eren asked.

“Don’t do it,” Levi suggested and examined the bathroom. “There is still some dried blood on the floor,” he said and stared at the mirror in front of him. “I never actually believed in that Bloody Mary’s shitty legend,” Levi stated, and turned look at Eren who was touching the dried blood with his fingers, “I mean, everywhere else all over the country, kids will play Bloody Mary, and as far as we know, nobody dies from it.”

“Yeah, well, maybe everywhere it's just a story, but here it's actually happening,” Eren said and washed his hands. It was just blood, really. “Maybe the legend began here. Did it even begin here?”

Levi shrugged his shoulders and opened the medical cabinet. “There are a lot of theories but usually they all come down to Ohio. Let’s assume we’re dealing with her for now.”

“But according to the legend, the person who says Blo—“ Eren started but one glance at the bathroom mirror made him stop in his tracks. “The person who says you know what gets it. But here—“

“The father got it instead. Yeah. It’s weird. I don’t understand it one bit to be honest. I’ve never heard anything like that before. Still, the guy did die right in front of the mirror, and the daughter's right. The way the legend goes, you know who scratches your eyes out.” Levi said and closed the cabinet so that he could face Eren properly. “Let’s just avoid saying her name. Just to be careful.”

 

**The Library, Toledo, 6:34PM**

“Shut your goddamn phone,” Levi moaned quietly and took the phone away from him. “Your phone never rings. You don’t have any friends.”

“Neither do you,” Eren snapped back and took his phone from Levi. “I just made one mistake. I sent her a text and asked if she was okay and now she keeps calling me!”

Levi stared Eren. Yeah, that was Eren’s one mistake: he was too fucking nice. “You could’ve just as well asked her to come over and have some good time. Agents don’t text to their ‘clients’. They are our clients Eren. You took the professional into more personal. Good luck with that… Uhm… Was she Lori?

Eren turned his phone off and stuffed it into his pocket. This was worse than evil spirits. He was terrified. “She asked if I wanted a bj in one text message. What’s bj?”

Levi’s eyes almost fell off. He was more surprised that a grieving daughter asked about blowjobs than Eren didn’t know what bj meant. He certainly knew that Eren was a little slow with sexual terms. “It means blowjob. Could we just focus on the research or do **I** have to blow you so that you can just calm down and focus?”

Eren blushed and glued his eyes into shelves in front of him. Yeah, let’s focus. “All right, say Bloody Mary really is haunting this town. There has to be some sort of proof… Like a local woman who died in really bad way.”

“Yeah but a legend this widespread it's hard. I mean, there's like 50 versions of who she actually is: Queen of England, witch, mutilated bride and the list goes on and on,” Levi sighed quietly and searched the shelves. Local lore: Ohio had a lot of local lore. Why was the local lore section always so damn dusty?

Eren tried not to think about what Levi had said few minutes ago. Would’ve he really given him a blowjob if he had said so? Eren blushed even more and cleared his throat. “So what are we supposed to be looking for?”

Levi looked at Eren. Oh man, virgins were always so much fun. “Every version's got a few things in common. It's always a woman named Mary, and she always dies right in front of a mirror. What would you suggest, Virgin Mary? Or in this case Virgin Eren?”

Eren huffed. “It’s not my fault! Jesus, dude. Don’t make my virginity such a big deal… I suggest that we've gotta search local newspapers and find if someone named Mary fits the bill. Not the Virgin Mary. Levi, you shouldn’t focus on innocent virgins. Do your job.”

After couple hours of digging through the local newspapers, Eren was ready to call it quits. “Did you find anything?” Levi asked from him and Eren only shook his head.

“A two local women, Laura and Catherine committed suicide in front of a mirror, and a giant mirror fell on a guy named Dave. Not a single one has Mary written in it,” Eren answered to Levi’s question with a quiet sigh. This was hopeless. He took out his phone and turned it on. So many missed calls from Lori.

“Maybe we just haven't found it yet,” Levi said but his back was already protesting. “Wait? Are you calling her?”

“Levi, there’s like 72 missed calls. Maybe something happened,” Eren defended himself and got up from his chair. He paused immediately when he heard Lori’s crying voice. “Whoa. Calm down. What happened?” he asked and gave Levi a puzzled look.

Levi also got up from the chair and started to pack their things while Eren tried to figure out what had happened.

“And they found her on the bathroom floor. And her—her eyes. They were gone,” Lori cried and Eren had to take the phone off of his ear for a minute. “And she said it. I heard her say it. She didn’t take it seriously!”

“Who didn’t take it seriously?” Eren sighed. There was a small silence when Eren only nodded and pointed Levi to follow him to the car. “Look. We think something's happening here. Something that can't be explained. We need a little bit of your help here, okay? We’ll see you at your friend’s house tomorrow…. Yeah. Bye.”

Levi quirked his eyebrows. “We’re going to a new place now? What happened?”

Eren opened the passenger’s door. “Lori’s friend, Maya, was killed in the same fashion as Lori’s father was. Maya had been teasing her about Bloody Mary and wanted to prove that she didn’t exist. So she said her name three times in front of a bathroom mirror… Well, you can guess the rest.”

Levi took a deep breath. “Well this time she chose the right victim; the chanter.”

 

**Maya’s House, Toledo, 25 th of July, 9:01AM**

“Is this Maya’s room?” Levi confirmed as three of them were packed inside a small room. There was so much pink and silver. This room reminded him of his and Eren’s bride suite. “Where are her parents?”

“They are currently in Europe. But they are on their way here, probably,” Lori mumbled quietly and closed the door behind them.

Eren pointed at the lights. “Okay, Lori. Go turn off the lights,” he instructed and soon they were in pitch-blackness. Eren heard Lori whimper and he resisted urge to roll his eyes. He took the video camera from Levi and turned on the night vision on it. He went on and opened Maya’s closet, filming the mirror that was attached on the door. “So I don't get it. I mean...the first victim didn't summon Mary, and the second victim did. How's she choosing them?”

Levi shrugged his shoulders and decided to stick close to Eren so that Lori wouldn’t be able to huggle Eren to death. He wasn’t protective, okay? He just felt like the job was more important. “I don’t know. I really don’t.”

“I want to know why Maya said it in the first place,” Eren mumbled quietly and closed the door when he didn’t find anything. “Somebody's going to say it again; it's just a matter of time. We don’t have time for this, Levi.”

Levi let out an exasperated sigh. “I know, Eren. I know. Just calm down and search,” he mumbled as Eren walked to Maya’s private bathroom with the camera. He decided to stay out since the bathroom wasn’t exactly big and he didn’t want to know what he could walk into in darkness.

Eren paused in front of the bathroom mirror and noticed something running down behind the mirror. “Levi? Do you have a black light in your trunk?” he asked from the bathroom and started to take the mirror away from the wall. Meanwhile Levi had brought the black light, Eren had already carried the mirror to the bedroom and taken off the brown paper on its back. He took the light from Levi and flashed it on the back. There was a handprint and a name written on it.

“Who is Jack Duffle?” Levi asked from Lori who looked like she had seen a ghost.

“I… I have no idea,” Lori stuttered quietly and shrugged her shoulders.

Eren sighed quietly and put the mirror back to where it was supposed to be. He flicked on the lights and turned off the video camera. “Let’s go find out then.”

While Eren and Lori were having a coffee in a nearby café, Levi had decided to figure out who the hell was Jack Duffle. So here was Eren, stuck with the blonde bimbo in front of him. This was awkward. Why things were always so awkward with women? He had been surrounded by men all his life – Sasha couldn’t be count as a full-blown woman, really. She was something else. “Sorry, did you say something?” he suddenly realized. He had seen Lori moving her mouth but he hadn’t heard what she had said.

Lori rolled her eyes. “I just said that you guys aren’t F.B.I agents. Right? I mean, they would try to find some logical explanation. Don’t tell me you’re from like prank camera or something because this isn’t fun.”

“Well… yeah. We’re not F.B.I agents. We actually hunt paranormal things, like ghosts and all that. But it’s easier to come to victim’s house when you pretend to be from F.B.I rather than saying that I’m a ghosthunter.”

“Oh. Yes. I guess you have a point,” Lori smiled and drank from her iced tea. “Is… Is your partner gay? He kinda latches onto you weirdly.”

Eren choked on his cola. He had to clear his throat few times. Eren had way too clear images what had happened in the bride suite. “Maybe you should ask him that. I’m not even sure if he’s a fish or a bird.”

“Huh?” Lori asked in puzzled tone. “Well, how is my offer? You know… As thanks for helping out in this town and all.”

Eren was about to choke again. God, this girl’s company was really dangerous. “I appreciate your offer but I’m trying to… keep this as professional as possible,” he explained and thanked heavens when Levi had entered their small corner booth. “Levi, uh, we were waiting for you.”

Levi gave Eren a puzzled look and he had to turn his gaze towards Lori. Then he looked back at Eren, then at Lori again. Okay, now he understood the situation. Right. “So, Jack Duffle. He was 8-year-old boy. Two years ago he was killed in a hit and run. The car was described as a black Toyota Camry. But nobody got the plates or saw the driver,” he explained and glanced at Lori who seemed to get a bit paler than her fake tan. “Do you… Do you know him after all?”

“Maya was driving that car,” Lori answered with cracked voice. “Wh-what about the mirror at my place?” she said.

Eren was surprised. Lori had actually listened and learned something from them. “Let’s go then.”

 

**Lori’s House, Toledo, 2:59PM**

Levi and Eren were hunched over the mirror they had just taken. Eren flipped it over and Levi checked the mirror’s backside with the black light they had brought with them. “Lara Stevenson,” Levi murmured at the name and the handprint. He turned to look at Lori. “Your last name is Stevenson. Is this your sister or mother?”

“She…” Lori murmured and tried to hold back her tears. “She was my mother but she died from an overdose of sleeping pills. It was accidental, I swear. I don’t know anything about this. Oh my god… Do you think my father killed her?”

Eren let out a big sigh. The plot was getting so much thicker. “Well, the pattern in pretty clear here...” he murmured and placed the mirror back to where it was supposed to be. “Listen, Lori. Whatever you do… Don’t say her name, okay?”

Lori nodded and let out a shaky breath. “I won’t. I promise, I won’t.”

 

**The Motel Room, Toledo, 5:31PM**

“Wait, wait, wait, you're doing a nationwide search?”

Levi lifted his head so he could look at Eren. He was pretty occupied with Eren’s laptop at the moment. “Yes. The NCIC, the FBI database… At this point any Mary who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me. We’re in a pretty tight spot here. Have you ever killed anyone, Eren?” he asked and tapped away with the laptop.

Eren didn’t answer to Levi’s question. “But if she's haunting the town, she should have died in the town. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Levi rolled his eyes and pointed an accusing finger at Eren. “I'm telling you there's nothing local, I've checked. So unless you got a better idea—“

“The way Mary's choosing her victims, it seems like there's a pattern.”

“That doesn’t prove anything, Eren. I was thinking the same thing,” Levi murmured and lowered his finger. “But do tell me, if you have something on your mind. I can listen to your bullshit.”

Eren flopped down to sit next to Levi. He had never really noticed it but Levi smelled good. Fresh mint with a hint of sea mixed in. It was awesome smell. Eren unconsciously slipped a little bit closer to Levi. “Right. I mean there's a lot of folklore about mirrors-that they reveal all your lies, all your secrets, that they're a true reflection of your soul, which is why it's bad luck to break them. So maybe if you've got a secret, I mean like a really bad one where someone died, and then Mary sees it, and punishes you for it. That is basically my theory.”

Levi seemed to be in deep thought. He clicked a ballpoint pen in his hand for a few minutes while he contemplated what Eren said. “Whether you're the one that summoned her or not… It wouldn’t matter…” he murmured and suddenly the laptop made a small sound.

Eren perked a little, and twisted his head enough to see what was on the screen. It was a picture of a dead woman lying by a mirror in a puddle of blood. In a picture next to that one was a bloody handprint and three letters “TRE”. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Her name was Mary Worthington—an unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana.”

“I’m not going to drive to Indiana for this,” Levi groaned quietly. “This is bullshit.”

Eren picked up his phone. “Sasha and Connie are in Indiana. I’ll ask them to run by the station,” he said and started dialing Connie’s number from his memory. “Hey, Connie. Can I ask you a favor? Yup, it’s pretty bad in Ohio.”

 

**The Motel Room, Toledo, 7:01PM**

“Did you get something?” Eren said when Connie had finally called him back. Connie was currently on speaker and Levi was staring at the phone intently. Eren had reliable hunter friends. That was a good thing, really.

“Well… The police officer said that it was one of the most memorable cases they ever had. They know that Mary was 19, lived by herself. She won a few local beauty contests, dreamt of getting out of Indiana, being an actress. The night of March 29th someone broke into her apartment and murdered her, cut out her eyes with a knife,” Connie explained while holding a police report in front of him. “Did you know what Sasha did? She asked if she could raid their fridge.”

Eren rolled his eyes. “Connie. What about the letters? Just… Try to focus, okay?” he murmured when he saw Levi’s irritated face. They really didn’t have time for this. Anyone could be killed. Eren swallowed thickly. This town was dangerous.

“Oh, right. The officer said that Mary might have tried to spell out her killer. He wasn’t sure but there was a local surgeon named Trevor. Mary mentioned him in her diary few times, maybe she was seeing him. The eyes were cut pretty professionally, so I would say… You know what I would say?” Connie joked from the phone. “Someone got their eye surgery done but it sure didn’t help with her vision. Okay, right. That was not a good joke.”

“Did you ask where she was buried?” Eren asked and Levi took out his notebook, ready to write down the address. “Or did you take care of it already?”

“No! She was cremated!” Sasha yelled from the distance, or at least it sounded like she did.

Eren let out a small curse and flopped down on Levi’s bed. He didn’t care about the nasty look Levi threw at his direction. “Fuck.”

Levi rolled the pen between his fingers. “What about the mirror? You asked about it, didn’t you?”

“We’re not that stupid,” Connie sighed. “It was returned to Mary's family a long time ago.”

“You have the names of her family by any chance?” Eren muttered from the bed.

 

**Toledo Café, Toledo, 26 th of July, 1:34PM**

“Oh really? Ah that's too bad Mr. Worthington. I would have paid a lot for that mirror. Okay, well maybe next time. All right, thanks,” Eren hung up the call and placed his head on the cool table. “That was Mary's sister. The mirror was in the family for years, until he sold it one week ago to a store called Estate Antiques. It’s a store in Toledo.”

“Her spirit's definitely tied up with it somehow,” Levi commented and finished his coffee. “Hey, we’re one step closer now. Why are you moping like that?” he asked from Eren.

“I feel bad for Mary.”

Levi rolled his eyes and flicked Eren’s forehead when he had lifted it a little. “Isn't there an old superstition that says mirrors can capture spirits? Come on, we need to focus here.”

Eren groaned and took a sip from his strawberry smoothie. Yes, he was a 22-years-old and he still loved kids’ smoothies. “I think so yeah. When someone would die in a house people would cover up the mirrors so the ghost wouldn't get trapped. A lot of households did that in Germany.”

“So Mary dies in front of a mirror, and it draws in her spirit.”

“Yeah but how could she move through like a hundred different mirrors? That doesn’t make any sense,” Eren moaned and finished his smoothie when he saw his phone buzzing. It was Lori again. “Say, we just smash the original one and it will be okay?” he said and answered the phone. “Alright. We’ll come pick you up,” he said and turned off the phone. “Bloody Mary is following her now. Her friend had chanted it in their school’s bathroom and… Well, now it’s following Lori.”

“And she didn’t care to tell us that she had killed somebody?” Levi spat with annoyed tone. He was really full of that constipated chick, thank you very much. “Okay, let’s go pick her up now since you **promised**.”

 

**The Motel Room, Toledo, 2:01PM**

Eren and Levi had covered all the mirrors and windows while Lori had taken a spot by Eren’s bed. She was crying her eyes out in panicked state. Levi had decided to go wait Eren outside; he really couldn’t stand crying people.

“Now listen. You're going to stay right here on this bed, and you're not going to look at glass, or anything else that has a reflection, okay? And as long as you do that, she cannot get you,” Eren explained and he kneeled in front of his bed. When he got a nod from Lori, he took a bit more serious expression. “We need to know what happened.”

Lori was swallowing thickly, not really knowing where to start. “I… It… I had a boyfriend. I really loved him. And one night, at his house, we got in to a fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset, and he said he needed me and he loved me, and he said "Lori, if you walk out that door right now, I'm going to kill myself. And… I just told him ‘go ahead’ and then I just left. I didn’t believe he would do it, but he did…” Lori wiped her eyes and buried her face into Eren’s pillow.

Eren let out a small breath. If that was all it took to Mary to come, everyone in this town would be in danger. “Okay. We’re going to go stop her now, so just do as I said, okay?” he said and walked out of the motel. He noticed Levi leaning against his car, waiting. “She didn’t exactly kill anyone but…” he started as they climbed inside the car. He then explained what Lori had told him.

“You know as well as I do that spirits don't exactly see shades of gray. Lori had a secret, someone died and that's good enough for Mary,” Levi said when Eren was finished. “And I also thought that maybe bashing down the mirror isn’t enough,” he told as they were driving towards the antique shop. “I mean she moves around from mirror to mirror so who's to say that she's not just going to keep hiding in them forever? So maybe we should try to pin her down, you know, summon Mary to her mirror and then smash it.”

Eren swallowed. He understood what Levi meant. That was a pretty good idea. “Who… Who is going to summon her then?” he asked, keeping his eyes trained on Levi’s expression.

“I will. She will come after me,” Levi said quietly, avoiding Eren’s eye contact. “I know you want to ask but let’s leave it for another time. And don’t pull the puppy face on me this time.”

Levi parked the car in front of the antique shop. “It’s not open on weekends,” he said as they both got out from the car. They circled the shop and found a backdoor. “Did you get the lock picks?”

Eren handed him a small box of different kind of picks. “You’re really good at that,” he whispered as he watched Levi working on the lock. He pushed the door open once he heard a small click. “Can you teach me?”

“After we’ve survived from this case, sure I can teach you,” Levi murmured as they closed the door behind them. He took a look around with his flashlight. “Holy shit. There are so many mirrors. That Connie should’ve sent us a picture of the mirror.”

Eren waved a small piece of paper in front of Levi. “He did send it. In the morning when you were still sleeping. You can take the picture, I got it memorized already.”

Levi snatched the piece of paper from Eren’s hand. “Let’s split up.”

After half an hour of looking, Eren called Levi. “I think I found it,” he said and flashed the light at a mirror in front of him when Levi had joined him.

“That’s the one,” Levi breathed out and stepped in front of the mirror. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was pretty nervous. “Take out the crowbar, Eren. I don’t want her to pulverize my pretty eyes, okay?”

Eren nodded and took out the crowbar from their shared duffel bag. “I just realized something. It could come after either of us. I-“

“This is not time for backtracking, Eren. Just focus on what you’re supposed to do,” Levi interrupted, “I trust you,” he whispered and turned to look at the mirror in front of them. “Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary.”

Eren saw Mary from out of the corner of his eye and smashed the mirror with the crowbar. It didn’t appear to the one in front of Levi. She moved into a different mirror. Eren was quick to read and smashed that mirror. “She is pretty slippery,” he commented when he saw Levi getting the second crowbar they brought with them. “You didn’t think it would actually work, did you?” he whispered quietly. Levi was like an emotional wreck next to him.

“No. I didn’t think it would,” Levi whispered back, his voice thick from emotion. He smashed a mirror next to him when he saw Mary’s body appearing in it. Suddenly he fell down on his knees, trying to even out his breath. Eren didn’t notice it immediately because he was more concerned about the alarm system that had finally picked them up. Levi could hear Mary’s voice ringing inside of his head and there was a trickle of blood coming out his eye. “E-Eren,” he rasped out but it was enough to draw Eren’s attention at the mirror in front of Levi.

Eren smashed down the mirror immediately, hoping he got her this time. “Levi,” he breathed out and knelt down in front of him. “Oh God, are you okay?” he whined while cradling Levi’s face in his hands. He still saw a small streak of blood coming out from Levi’s eyes.

Levi pointed at the mirror Eren had just smashed down. Mary had started to crawl out of the frame of mirror. Levi glanced at Eren’s eyes that were also starting to bleed. Shit. This had taken the turn for the worse. Levi took one of the mirrors that was still intact and pointed it towards Mary. That was all he could really think of right now.

Mary started choking to death and then melted into a pile of blood. Levi then threw down the mirror he held and it shattered.

Eren slumped down on the ground with Levi. They just laid there, in the middle of broken mirrors. He let out a small chuckle when he wiped the blood away from his face. “This has got to be like... 500 years of bad luck?” he asked from Levi, earning a small laugh from him.

 

**Toledo Café, Toledo, 5:59PM**

“Lori kissed me,” Eren suddenly blurted and Levi almost choked on his drink. “After I took her home with your car, she just kissed me.”

Levi regained his composure and took a bite of his sandwich. Alright. He drummed his fingers on the surface of the table. He didn’t want to admit it but he felt a small tinge of jealousness. He hadn’t gotten a kiss from Eren when he had saved both of them from Mary who was acting like the Samara from that weird horror movie. “Mhm? And? Are you going to stay here and get married?” he said a little bit too venomously. He realized it a little bit too late though. _Oh well._

Eren sighed quietly at Levi’s tone. “I didn’t like it,” he admitted. He was actually panicking on the inside. “Levi… I… What if I’m gay?” he whispered over the table.

Levi could see the sheer panic in Eren’s eyes. What? Was he afraid of being gay? Levi licked his lips in thought. He might have done that though. Eren’s first kiss was from a guy after all. But it didn’t work that way, did it? Everyone was born gay. Oh he didn’t know how it worked. “Are you afraid of being gay?” he asked from Eren, trying really hard not to laugh.

“Yes. I am fucking terrified,” Eren admitted and leaned back in his chair. “I’m like anomaly.”

“You do know that you’re insulting me too?” Levi huffed and flicked Eren’s forehead. “You’re like a kid who doesn’t know anything yet. It might just be that Lori wasn’t someone you wanted to kiss. It doesn’t have anything to do with gender. Has no one taught you this shit?”

Eren pursed his lips. Not really. His dad only taught that gays weren’t good people. Eren stared Levi’s features. He was so relaxed about all this. And well, Levi wasn’t a bad person. He hadn’t even called him an asshole for a while. “No. Dad never taught me anything about that. I learned about hunting and that’s about it. Mom was a busy woman so she expected the school to teach us about all that jazz. I guess I am pretty clueless.”

Levi couldn’t agree more to Eren’s cluelessness. Even if Grisha said that Eren wasn’t a kid anymore… Levi bit inside of his cheek. Eren had so much to learn about love, sex, friendship… Eren had missed out a lot. Levi had missed out too, but somehow he was always surrounded by good people. He looked at Eren’s phone that was flashing between them. “Eren. Your phone.”

Eren snapped out of his trance and reached for the phone. It was Armin’s number. He answered the call and brought the phone to his ear. “Yeah, what is it?”

“It's about your dad.”

 

**To be continued.**


	5. Your home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You shouldn’t blame Arlert about what happened,” Levi said and took a small drag from his cancer stick. He flicked it gently with his finger. He almost looked feminine doing it, Eren decided. “He’s afraid of you,” Levi finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got this chapter out. It's by far the longest one and it has zero action in it. This chapter is purely character development, meeting other characters, building relationships... And this chapter is not a happy one, just giving you a warning. I'm also adding and changing tags so you might want to check those. Today I was writing the rest of the chapter and I realized how much research I do before I write anything. I even go to google maps to see what the roads look like and the environment. I'm trying to be realistic with the descriptions.  
> Things you should know in this chapter:  
> Crossroads Demon = Crossroads demons are entities that make formal agreements or bargains with humans, granting any wish in exchange for claiming their life and soul at a fixed point in the future. Deals made with humans are sealed with a kiss, and contracts are written invisibly on the skin of the person. They tend to have red eyes. When the person dies either before his or her time, or is killed by a hellhound at the end of the appointed period, his or her soul is sent to hell. Terms of the demonic contracts vary, but the person selling his or her soul is usually given ten years to live after the deal is made.  
> Hellhound = Hellhounds are aggressive, violent dogs that can and do serve demons in Supernatural. They commonly appear to kill a person who has made a deal with a crossroads demon allowing the person's soul to be harvested by Hell. In the days proceeding the end of a person's time, they will appear to the victim in dreams. The person will also hallucinate, and be able to see the true face of demons when they are possessing humans. Their origin is unknown. They are also used to hunt down renegade demons and drag them back to Hell.

**The Motel Room, Toledo, 26 th of July, 10:08PM**

Levi kept starting at the small lump that was covered in blankets. It had been four hours since Armin’s call and three hours since Levi had managed to bring Eren back to the motel room. He had asked multiple times if Eren was okay but he hadn’t answered. Levi didn’t even know what the call was about. He was sure about four things: Eren wasn’t asleep. Eren was crying. The call was from Armin. It was something serious. Levi hadn’t moved towards the bed where Eren was currently sulking. Maybe he should ask, or maybe he shouldn’t. Instead of asking or moving from the table, Levi turned on Eren’s laptop. Maybe he could find them a new case and Eren would forget whatever emotional crisis he was going through right now.

Levi was scrolling the news when he heard a slight movement from the bed. His eyes carefully drifted towards the bed but nothing had really changed. Eren was still inside the blankets. He had probably just moved his arms or legs. Levi’s eyes moved back towards the screen. It wasn’t until later when Levi realized that he had been zoning out for almost half an hour. By then Levi decided that he had had enough of Eren’s emotional breakdown. He got up from the chair and marched outside. Levi closed the door behind him and sat down to a small bench that was situated near the door. Levi dug around in his pocket for a minute before dragging out a cigarette and lighter. The man lit it and took a long drag. “Holy shit,” Levi mumbled quietly as he held the cigarette between his slim fingers. He had no idea Eren could act like a woman at times.

Levi didn’t know how long he had sat there but he could see slight movement from the corner of his eye. “It’s a nice night,” Levi commented when familiar scent attacked his nostrils. Eren had sat right next to him. Levi turned to look at Eren’s red-rimmed eyes with slight sympathy. “Want to talk about it?” he forced out and took another long drag from his cigarette. Levi had no idea how many he had already smoked nor did he care. Keeping an eye on Eren was pretty stressing right now. Levi felt Eren shift next to him carefully.

“Can… Can I have a smoke too?” Eren mumbled with a quiet voice. He probably didn’t trust his voice yet, Levi figured. Levi dug around his pocket and gave Eren a cigarette. Levi leaned closer to Eren so that he could light the stick.

“I didn’t take you for a smoker,” Levi commented when Eren took a pretty experienced drag from his cigarette.

Eren shrugged his shoulders. “I smoked a lot when dad went missing. It was like a lifeline I hang onto. Sounds stupid, right?” he murmured quietly, looking at the cigarette that was hanging from his tan fingers.

“A little,” Levi chuckled and stumped his cigarette so that he could admire the stars properly. Usually the silence between Levi and Eren was comfortable. It didn’t feel awkward. This time Levi was everything but comfortable with the silence. He was itching to know what was going on in Eren’s head. “Eren. You need to tell me what happened,” Levi said with voice that yelled strictness all the way through. “If you want to keep hunting with me, we need to know what is going on in the other one’s head. This job isn’t exactly the happiest one available. I need to trust that you can keep your head cool. Do you… Do you need to get back to Oregon? I can take you there if you want to,” Levi finished with a much gentler tone.

Eren stumped the last of his cigarette while he was thinking what he should answer to Levi. He licked his lips and avoided looking at Levi’s direction. Levi had a point. He always had a point and Levi was always right. It almost irked Eren. How perfect can someone be? Eren licked his lips again. He closed his eyes and sucked air in his lungs before exhaling loudly. “Armin called about my father,” he started and he could already feel Levi going tense next to him. It concerned them both after all. “He… He…” Eren stumbled in his words and curled his hand into a fist. “We’re not completely sure, but,” he chocked again and tried to gather himself again. Eren was ashamed how he couldn’t keep his head cool this time. He knew how much Levi hated Eren’s crying and now he had to tolerate it. “I’m sorry.”

Levi slipped his hand on top of Eren’s curled fist. It was so cold compared to his hand. “Eren,” he sighed quietly and tried to pry Eren’s fist open with his fingers. It helped him to focus a little bit better. “Don’t apologize. I just want to know what happened. If it’s about Grisha, it concerns my team also,” he calmly said.

Eren took comfort from Levi’s hand that was currently holding his uncurled fist. “Hellhounds took my dad,” the brunet choked out. He held onto Levi’s hand and he squeezed it a little bit too hard. If it hurt, Levi certainly didn’t show it from his face. “He knew where my base is. He ran there in hopes to find me and Armin tried his best to keep the hellhounds away but…”

Levi was shocked. He didn’t show it but he was beyond shocked. Grisha fucking Jaeger had made a deal with the devil ten years ago. What Grisha had asked from the devil? Did Eren know Grisha had made a deal? Levi highly doubted it. Eren had no idea. Levi had to let go of Eren’s hand so that he could stand up and think. That seemed to startle Eren. “Before you even say it, it’s not your fault,” he bit out harshly. “It was you father’s stupid and selfish decision to make a deal with the devil. Grisha was a dick, I’m sorry, but that is the truth.”

They fell silent after that. Eren had started to retreat inside and that was when Levi realized his mistake. He probably shouldn’t have insulted Grisha in front of Eren who seemed to look up at his old man. Levi didn’t understand why. Eren should be angry at Grisha for leaving him alone and making a deal. He followed Eren inside, ready to apologize again. What he didn’t expect was Eren pouring coffee into two mugs. “Eren?” Levi tested carefully and walked towards him.

“I’m not mad at you,” Eren said and offered Levi the other cup of coffee. “I’m just… Finding it hard to understand why dad made that deal. Or what deal he had even made,” he murmured and sat down to a small couch in front of an old television. “And why he didn’t tell me about. Maybe I could have found some sort of a way to un-do the deal and-“

“What is done is done, Eren. There is no use thinking what you could have done,” Levi interrupted Eren’s stupid thoughts and sat down next to him. He didn’t really know how to comfort Eren so the best he could do was to sit with him and drink coffee. “Since you apparently take no offense from insulting your father…” he started but Eren slapped him in the shin gently. “Alright, no offending dead dicks, I suppose.”

“Levi,” Eren scolded with slightly sour face and shifted his legs to rest on Levi’s lap. “Can we go to Oregon? I want to see Armin. He also said that dad left pretty much everything he had there, so… There might be clues about my mother.”

Levi placed the coffee mug on the coffee table in front of them and started to massage Eren’s feet carefully. “I said I can take you there if you want to,” he said and watched as Eren started to relax under his touch. Levi took the coffee mug away from Eren’s hands if they boy suddenly decided to start sleeping.

“I know what you said,” Eren murmured and closed his eyes. Levi was good at massaging feet. He could hear the television being turned on. It was soothing, really. “But you said that you can take me there. You never said that you would come with me.”

Levi stopped massaging Eren’s legs for a minute or two before he resumed to his task. He had to think hard what he should say to Eren. He didn’t feel like intruding Eren’s home of sorts. “I didn’t think you would actually realize what I had said,” Levi finally said, adding a little bit more pressure to Eren’s feet. “If you want me to come with you, I will. Or I can just leave you there to do whatever the hell you want to.”

Eren hissed a little when Levi had massaged his feet with a little bit too much force. “If you don’t want to join me just say it.”

Levi stopped massaging Eren’s feet altogether. “Eren,” cold voice called out the brunet’s name, “If I don’t want to you to stick around me, I would’ve dumped you to Oregon a little bit earlier.”

“Fair enough,” Eren said and kicked Levi’s arms gently with his feet. “Keep going,” he ordered and tried to focus on the television show. It was the re-run of Gossip Girl. Eren wanted not to think about his father. He really didn’t want to think how those hellhounds ripped his father before they dragged him to the hell. He didn’t want to think how his father was burning in hell right at this moment. He was starting to feel a little bit sick even though Levi had resumed with his massaging. He could almost smell the burning flesh in his nose and his father’s agonizing screams. Soon enough he was crying again.

Levi didn’t bother to comment on Eren’s pale face or crying. He could easily imagine Grisha’s agony too. Now he kind of understood why Grisha asked him to find Eren three years ago. But Levi had a hunch that there was more to it. There was more than the deal. And there was more into that deal. Levi wanted to know what.

“You know, Chuck Bass is a lot like you,” Eren suddenly whispered. He wiped away his tears so that he could look at Levi properly. He managed to crack a small smile. “And don’t say that you can’t see it.”

Levi raised his eyebrow at Eren’s statement. He didn’t even know that Eren was watching the show. “Me? Chuck Bass? Actually, I can see it. I can see it, just a little.”

Eren nodded and shifted a little on the sofa. He was sitting alone in the corner now, in a small ball. “Levi?” he murmured quietly, now staring at the television screen in front of him. “Can… Can I sleep next to you?” he whimpered like a small cornered animal. “I mean… Yo-you don’t ha-have to but it would make me feel-“

“Okay,” Levi blurted out a little bit too quick for his taste. He didn’t even realize it at first. “I mean… Because Chuck bass would probably say that, right?” he murmured and opened his arms for Eren. He watched as Eren carefully scooted closer to him and buried himself into Levi’s warm chest. Eren was definitely a cuddly type. “Just don’t fall asleep on the sofa. If you’re tired we can go to bed.”

Eren nodded against Levi’s chest and wrapped a blanket around them carefully. He didn’t really understand why he suddenly felt like getting cuddly but it was oddly comforting. Eren continued to look the episode with little curiosity. “How did you know who I was?”

Levi unconsciously started to pet Eren’s hair. It was soft to the touch. He had expected it to be different. Levi was surprised by Eren’s question. “Your father had a picture of you at his office – at our base. You haven’t really changed in… I guess you were nine in that picture,” he chuckled quietly. “You had the same big green eyes and well… Nothing has really changed about you I guess.”

Eren licked his lips. This was good opportunity since Levi had seemed to lower his guard a lot. He really wanted to know. “Why did you help me on that case?” he asked. He never really bought the reason Levi had said in the hospital. “Real reason, please.”

Levi tucked Eren’s hair gently. “What the hell, Eren?” he whispered quietly, holding back his urge to flip the boy off. “I really thought you were stupid but your brains are just… How-“  
“I’m not probably the most intelligent person in the whole world but I can see if you’re trying to cover up something. I mean, I am a really bad liar but I can still detect if you are lying. You are pretty good in it. I only stopped to think about it few days ago. So, the real reason is…?” Eren sighed and turned to look at Levi instead of Chuck Bass’s handsome features.

Levi hummed quietly, deciding to keep his eyes on the screen. “I guess you deserve truths. I have no idea how big part of your life has been a lie anyways,” he murmured and continued petting Eren’s hair. It was soothing to have something to do with your hands, whether it was clicking a ballpoint pen or… well, this. “Three years ago Grisha Jaeger begged me to find you and keep an eye on you. I refused,” Levi started without tearing his gaze away from the TV, “He left to Texas. We didn’t hear from him until now. So, I didn’t intend to look for you, but then I saw you in Virginia. It was a pretty weird coincidence like; whatever I did I ended up keeping an eye on you. At first I thought I should just follow you around and well… Just keep an eye on you. But I don’t know why I decided to approach you. And here we are.”

Eren blinked and found it actually pretty hard to breathe. _Dad had asked Levi to watch over me?_ He swallowed thickly and buried his head into Levi’s chest once more. The brunet didn’t know how to react to that. Grisha Jaeger never begged anyone. Never. It felt like he didn’t even know his father anymore. The father he knew wouldn’t have made a deal with the devil. The father he knew wouldn’t have left him alone five years ago. “Why… Why the fuck did he leave me in the first place…” he whimpered and curled his hands into fists again. He was feeling anger and sadness at the same time.

Levi wrapped his hands around Eren. “I don’t know, Eren. I don’t know,” he sighed. He had asked the same thing from Grisha and he had never gotten an answer out of him. Now he just tried to think why Grisha might have left Eren alone. Levi held Eren’s shivering form against him gently. “Don’t think about it too much. You can only move forward if you find the peace in yourself. I know that you will miss your father but you shouldn’t stay in the past.”

Eren sniffled quietly. “Did you find the peace in yourself?” he asked quietly, referring to what had happened earlier today.

“You mean when I decided to call that crazy mirror bitch?” Levi asked, unconsciously bringing Eren closer to him. When he felt Eren nod, he let out a deep breath. “I think so. I miss them. And I will always keep them in my heart.”

Eren didn’t question Levi any further. If he had found that peace, he would let it be in that small sanctuary. He closed his eyes, listening to Levi’s steady heartbeat. It was comforting. It was warm. Eren felt extremely sleepy but he didn’t want to move to the bed anymore. It would mean that the warmth would go away for a while and Eren did not want that. No, he wanted to stay right here.

Levi let out a loud sigh when he realized that Eren’s breathing had evened out. That little ass had fallen asleep even though he had said that Eren shouldn’t fall asleep here. Levi wondered how much Eren weighted. He carefully slid his arms under Eren’s back and knees and lifted the boy along with his own body. He was surprised how light Eren actually was. Levi expected the boy be a little bit heavier because of all the shit he ate: chips, soft drinks, pies, cakes, you name it. Maybe that was the reason actually; Eren wasn’t built the same way as Levi. He shook his head and carried Eren to the bed. Levi tucked Eren in and went to turn off the television. The dark-haired male then fell on his own bed. He would sleep in his own bed. It would feel wrong to sleep next to Eren right now.

 

**The Motel Room, Toledo, 27 th of July, 6:39AM**

“I brought you blueberry waffles and coffee,” Levi said when he placed the items on their table. He glanced at the small lump on the bed. Again with this? He sighed quietly and sat next to Eren. “I tried to wake you up nearly an hour ago and you’re still sleeping.”

Eren pulled the blanket over his head. “I’m awake,” he mumbled quietly and tried to open his heavy eyelids. “Do you have any aspirin?” Eren rasped out and peeked at Levi carefully. “I have a headache.”

“No wonder,” Levi murmured quietly and walked to his small backpack. He dug around it quickly and was surprised to see Eren at the table when he turned towards the bed. “Good,” he shrugged his shoulders and gave Eren the pills. Levi unfolded a map after Eren had secured his waffles and coffee and aspirins. “You awake enough to listen?” Levi asked from the brunet. When he got a nod he pointed where they were currently staying. “From Ohio’s Toledo to Oregon’s Bend… It’s around 2400 miles. It’s a pretty long drive. So we are going to lay out some rules. Do you know what number one is?”

Eren swallowed the pills and downed them with a small bottle of water. “No energy drinks,” he sighed with an irritated face. Levi had been pretty clear with it for the past days and Eren decided not to forget about it. “Next rule.”

“If there is a case while we are driving to Oregon and it’s on out path, we will not go there,” Levi said and noticed the immediate discomfort on Eren’s face. “Don’t even start. It’s for your own good. You won’t be able to have a full focus if something comes at you. I know it from the experience. We are not stopping for ghost hunting. Understood?”

Eren mock saluted Levi and started to eat his waffles. Usually he fetched the breakfast but somehow Levi had remembered that Eren always ate blueberry waffles. What a heartwarming thought that was.

“We also have a third rule. You will not drive my car.”

Eren gaped at Levi. “You’re planning to drive for like… nearly 40 hours just like that? I think you will get bored,” he mumbled. Eren wanted to drive Levi’s car at least once. He thought that this trip might be his only chance since it’s ridiculously long one.  

“We’re going to sleep in two motels on our way. There is no need to switch drivers,” Levi snapped at Eren. Oh, he knew. Levi knew that Eren wanted to drive his car very badly. The brunet had this weird longing look when he looked at Levi’s car. Levi folded the map and slapped it gently over Eren’s head. “How are you feeling?”

Eren was in the middle of drinking his coffee when Levi asked his question. He gripped the carton cup a little bit tighter. “I don’t know how to make it feel better,” he admitted and placed the cup on the table. “I’m trying not to think about it but it haunts me. It’s like… I can hear my father’s screaming right next to my ear, I can smell the burning flesh, I can smell the blood and…”

Levi stepped in front of Eren and brought his forehead rest against Eren’s. “Stop. You need to stop thinking about it. I know you are trying but you need to try harder. Do you understand now when I said that we won’t stop for ghost hunting?”

Eren closed his eyes when he felt Levi’s breath on his face. “Yes,” he mumbled quietly. “What are you doing?” he asked when he felt a hand snaking around the back of his neck.

Levi leaned closer to Eren’s lips but withdrew at the last second. “Nothing,” he sighed and rubbed Eren’s neck gently. “Come on. Go tidy up and then we’ll leave,” Levi said and went to his backpack. He spared a small glance at Eren who retreated to the bathroom. Levi let out a shaky sigh. “What is wrong with me?”

 

**On the Road, 4:02PM**

It was fairly surprising to find the roads quite empty. They had just passed Minnesota and Eren was already nodding off on the passenger’s seat. Levi couldn’t blame him, really. All they could even see was practically fields after another. Levi reached for a map that was situated on Eren’s lap to take a peek. North Dakota. They would be passing through it, or more like passing near the borders. He hadn’t been in North Dakota after Grisha had decided to leave. Levi didn’t mean to go look for Eren at the time but somehow it had ended up just like that.

Levi rolled his shoulders gently and focused on the road again. He glanced at his phone; in-coming call. Levi was tempted to ask Eren take it but seeing him fast asleep by now, he didn’t find the heart to do it. The dark haired male reached for it and answered it with bored tone.

 _“I heard about Grisha. Hanji said you are heading to Oregon. Which route are you taking?”_ a female voice asked from the other line. Levi cringed a little, considering his options at this point. She was his relative and nothing could really change that.

“I’m just about driving past Mapleton. I decided to take the longer road so that Eren could calm himself down before meeting his hunter friends.”

 _“Oh, right. It must be hard for him. Listen,”_ Levi was definitely listening. He passed a truck that was driving way too slowly for his taste. Levi tried to keep his voice down, just for Eren. He didn’t really want him to be curious about who was calling. Eren was very curious human being. _“could you pick me up since you’re driving through? It’s been a long time since I was working again and it’s situated in Oregon. Erwin already gave me a green light.”_

Levi made a slight face. “Mikasa. I am driving to Oregon and while Eren deals whatever the shit he deals in there, so I can take care of it,” he reasoned. There was one reason he didn’t want to take Mikasa with him. Mikasa’s mother senses would spark up the moment she sees Eren’s miserable face and Levi didn’t want that. At all. “There is no need-“

_“ **I said Erwin gave me a green light.** Erwin and that Armin kid said that I can take care of it.Pick me up from Jamestown. I’m waiting already at the usual place. Bye.”_

Levi’s eye twitched when he heard a steady, slow beep in his ear. “For shit’s sake,” he sighed and resisted an urge to slam his head into the steering wheel and drive them into nearest forest. Levi needed Eren to wake the fuck up now. “Hey shithead. Wake up. We need to stop in Jamestown and… Well, you will have to travel in the backseats.”

Eren groaned when he heard his nickname being said. “I barely even slept. What, half an hour? Why are we stopping?” he asked and looked outside. It was pouring rain. But he could see a lake, so that was a good thing. “We are in North Dakota, right?”

Levi rolled his eyes. “Correct. We are stopping so that my shitty excuse of a relative can join this car that they call a fucking taxi. She never even pays for my gasoline whenever she decides to stick along,” he snapped at Eren for no reason at all.

Eren didn’t take any offense from it. Even if Levi snapped at him, he wasn’t necessarily insulting the brunet. “So… Okay,” he murmured and rubbed his eyes gently. “How long until Jamestown?”

“We will take right soon enough. And you have a fucking map right on your lap. Just read it, don’t ask me.”

“Jeez. Don’t take it on me,” Eren sighed. He had kind of gotten used to Levi’s asshole attitude but he had also discovered a softer side to him. “You know, if you don’t want her to come, just ditch her.”

Levi seriously considered this option. “Erwin would probably skin me if I did that. She is our best hunter, probably better than me already. Only thing she lacks is the experience,” he murmured quietly, looking at the road. He passed another car. Was Levi driving too fast or were the other cars driving too slowly? One glance at the meter told him that yes, Levi was driving too fast. “You’ll understand when you see her,” Levi commented and took the right turn.

After driving for a while, Eren finally opened his mouth again. “This place is dead. How do you even know where to go?”

“I used to live here, shitbutt. My base is here. And no, I’m not picking her up from our little nest. I pick her from the usual spot.”

Eren nodded and proceeded to take in the town. They passed a small church and Eren’s lips quirked up ever so slightly. “I never believed in God but that church almost makes me want to believe,” he sighed quietly. Eren really hoped he believed. Maybe he could pray for his father. Maybe he could have saved his father with praying. Maybe. Just maybe.

Levi spared a quick glance at the red tiled church. “I broke that front window when I first came here. I was pretty rebellious. Father Princeton wasn’t even angry with me. I didn’t find it satisfying when he didn’t. I didn’t understand it back then,” he murmured quietly at Eren’s longing face. “I know what you’re thinking. Personally, I think no matter how hard you would’ve prayed or believed… I don’t think you could have saved Grisha. I’m sorry, Eren.”

It was one long silence. Eren broke it after they had to stop at the red lights. “Now that we’ve come near the town center, this isn’t actually so bad,” he whispered, avoiding Levi’s eye contact. “It’s… pretty homey.”

Levi swallowed thickly and pressed his foot down gently when the lights turned to green. “Do you have a home?” he suddenly asked, not really understanding why he even asked that question. Eren didn’t have any family left except for his hunter family.

Eren found it extremely hard to breathe when Levi had asked his question. He didn’t know the answer. Eren felt like he needed to answer. Levi had told him something about his home. “I-“

“Don’t,” Levi breathed out and touched Eren’s knee with his hand, trying not to seem creepy doing it. Not that Eren would be creeped out by anything because he was so damn clueless. “Don’t force it out. I wasn’t supposed to ask that question anyways. I was tactless.”

Eren let out a shaky breath and placed his hand on top of Levi’s. “No. It’s just… I don’t know. I don’t have a home. I don’t think I would feel like I’m in home if I went to Germany. I don’t think Oregon is my home either. I don’t know what is. I’ve never stayed long in the same place after all.”

Levi didn’t comment anything further. They had reached their destination anyways. He pulled the car in front of McDonald’s. Behind the McDonald’s laid a pretty comfortable looking inn, Eren had decided that. “You know… This McDonald’s is the shadiest McDonald’s I have ever seen,” he whispered quietly. Eren could hear Levi chuckle and the brunet switched to backseat quickly.

“I know, it’s not very fancy,” Levi admitted when he looked at the building closely. He had seen a lot of those restaurants while travelling across the states and this one was definitely very shady. It had barely any decoration on it and the paint was faded. Levi suppressed a sigh when he saw Mikasa reaching their car. “There she is.”

Mikasa opened the door and threw her backpack towards backseats. She saw Eren dodging it barely. “Oh sorry, I didn’t notice you.”

Eren’s eyes almost fell off of his sockets. “Mi-Mikasa?” he sputtered and looked between Mikasa and Levi. Holy shit, they looked kind of same. “You guys are relatives?”

“What the hell? Do you know Mikasa?” Levi asked in shocked tone and shot an ugly glare towards his cousin. “You didn’t tell anyone you have met Grisha’s son.”

Mikasa bit his lip and ignored Levi. She reached towards Eren, engulfing him into a bone crushing hug. “Oh, Eren. I am so sorry for your loss. How are you feeling? Has Levi treated you okay? I heard from Erwin that you were hurt on your first mission with Levi. He didn’t look after you, did he? I should have come instead of Levi-“

Eren groaned quietly and pushed Mikasa gently away from him. “I think Levi deserves some kind of explanation and I guess I need one too?” he murmured, not wanting to answer any questions Mikasa threw at him.

Mikasa glanced at Levi who was about to push her out of the car if needed. “That midg-”

Eren quickly put his hand over Mikasa’s mouth and heaved a big sigh. “I can tell you how Mikasa and I met. It was around one and half year ago. Just like you and me, we ended up on a same case. She never told me her last name so I didn’t make any connection between you two. I saved her from vampires’ nest.”

Mikasa moved Eren’s hand away. “Remember, Levi? I informed Erwin later that I am with other hunters who are helping me to recover from getting bitten by a vampire. I stayed in Oregon for half a year before coming back,” she explained and wrapped her red scarf around her neck more comfortably. “After I came back to North Dakota, Erwin decided that I should lay off for a while and I was his assistant until today.”

Levi started to drive back to the main road. “Mikasa. That doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t report about Eren. Everything that had to do with Jaeger’s family was to be reported to us,” he scolded Mikasa and considered driving to the headquarters. Levi could just dump Mikasa there and give a very good reason not to take Mikasa with them. She would be emotionally conflicted, yes.

“I didn’t want anyone to know about him,” Mikasa said quietly.

Eren had been quiet this whole time, just staring at the duo in front of him. He had time to mull over the things that had been just said. Eren still didn’t understand why it was so important to report about his family. Now non-existent family.

“Why?” Levi groaned at Mikasa’s answer. When Mikasa didn’t answer, Levi only had to count 1+1 to understand what was going on in Mikasa’s pretty little head. “Alright then. Give me a one good reason why I shouldn’t turn this car around to take you back to Erwin.”

“I can wash your car once we arrive to Oregon.”

“Deal.”

Eren’s eyes widened. It was that easy? He could get anything from Levi if he promised to clean something. Eren needed to keep this in his mind as long as he was going to hunt with Levi. The car fell silent. Until suddenly…

“Mikasa. Eren is gay.”

“Wha- I never said that Levi!” Eren hollered from the backseats. “Besides you can’t just say someone’s sexuality out loud like that!”

Mikasa gave Levi a murderous look. “Don’t make my Eren uncomfortable.”

Levi swore that this was going to be a long ride to Oregon.

 

**Bend, Oregon, 29 th of July, 8:17PM**

“Is this Arlert kid a billionaire?” Levi asked from Eren while following him and Mikasa. He had expected to find a small cabin when they had taken a turn towards mountainside. Oh how wrong he had been. He was staring at the most gorgeous house he had ever seen in his entire life. It had a tinge of oldness to it but yet it was extremely modern looking. Even though it was dark, Levi could see a pretty landscape patio. Holy shit, he could see a riverfront and they were literally on a mountain, isolated from everything.

Eren turned his head to look at Levi’s reaction to the house. It was almost the same as Mikasa’s except Levi held his awe a little bit better than Mikasa did. He chuckled quietly and opened the front door with his own keys. “Well… You could probably say that. Armin’s grandfather was a billionaire. He owned a great business but decided to sell it away before he died. Armin inherited everything,” Eren told and held the door open for Mikasa and Levi. “Shoes off, Levi. But I guess you would have done it anyways.”

Levi scowled and slipped out of his shoes before stepping inside. He saw living room from the lobby. He could also see Jean sitting in the living room area with a black mug in his hands. Levi noticed the large windows and he could only wonder why Eren didn’t feel like this was his home. This place almost screamed home. The location was perfect, he shared the house with people dear to him and the house was amazing. “Wow.”

Mikasa went to place their jackets on clothes rack. “Jean, is Armin home?” she asked and walked into the living room.

Eren pushed Levi into the living room with them. “Come on, our house is your house. Don’t be awkward about it. I asked you to come with me anyways,” he said. Eren greeted Jean and slumped onto nearest sofa with Levi. “It hasn’t been too long, horse face.”

Levi couldn’t help but notice the scratching marks on the wooden floor that lead to the living room. Oh man, he had seen those before. Levi spared a small glance to Eren. Maybe he hadn’t even noticed them, which would be ideal. He could see Jean’s face looking a little bit tenser too.

Jean shot a gentle glare at Eren’s direction but turned towards Mikasa. “Yeah, he is in the office. We didn’t expect you until tomorrow morning. I didn’t even hear your car, Levi,” he said and sat on a white rug. “Sasha and Connie are sleeping in the room next to this one so let’s try to keep our voices down.”

Eren looked surprised. “Sasha and Connie are here?” he asked and tilted his head to the side. “Why?”

“They wanted to see how you are doing,” Jean answered as casually as possible but he could already see that the damage was done. “I’ll go get Armin,” he suddenly piped up and disappeared from the living room, leaving the trio alone. Jean stepped into a small staircase and walked upstairs. He walked in the hallway until he stopped in front of a door that was slightly ajar. “Hey, Armin. Eren and his posse are here.”

The blonde haired boy shot up from his chair and quickly re-tied his ponytail. Even if he did that his golden hair still looked kind of disheveled. He grabbed the red framed glasses from his table and stared at Jean. “Did you cover the scratch marks from the hounds?”

Jean rolled his eyes. “Levi’s car is so quiet that I didn’t even hear them coming. Suddenly they just all stood in our lobby. I don’t think he noticed though. I did damage just by saying that Sasha and Connie came here to see how he is doing,” he groaned quietly and followed Armin to downstairs.

Armin moaned quietly from the stress that was building up inside of him. Eren would probably accuse him of Grisha’s death. He didn’t even have time to apologize for not being able to protect the old man. “Jean, I will ask them to come to kitchen and while I’m doing that, cover up the marks,” he whispered before they entered the living room. “Eren!” Armin switched to the happy mode and nearly jumped on the boy’s lap. “How was your journey? I was going to inform you about Mikasa but I guess it was a nice surprise, right?”

Levi took in Armin’s appearance. To Levi’s eyes Armin was like a chibi version of Erwin. Even their names sounded same. And they both had blue eyes and blonde hair. He should take a picture and show Erwin. Levi listened to Eren and Armin talking about the trip but he could clearly hear the hesitation and terror in Armin’s voice. He wondered if Eren could hear it too. Levi could hear Mikasa commenting here and there. Not that he was really listening to anything but their tone. Then all of sudden there was a pair of blue eyes right in front of him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t introduce myself to you yet, Mr. Ackerman. My name is Armin, Eren’s contact.”

Levi shook hands with Armin. “Just Levi is fine for me. Mr. Ackerman makes me feel way too old,” he snorted and stood up from the sofa. “I think this little shit here,” Levi pointed at Eren, “is pretty hungry. He has been complaining for the past two hours about in a car.”

Eren rolled his eyes and stood up from the sofa after Levi did. “I’m still little shit? How nice of you,” he complained. Eren looked curiously at Armin. “I know you didn’t expect us until tomorrow but I hope you got food in the fridge,” Eren flashed a small grin and pulled Levi with him towards the kitchen. He saw Mikasa and Armin following them. Eren pulled Levi a little bit closer to him. “Do you think Jean is acting a little weird?” he whispered quietly to Levi’s ear.

Levi raised his eyebrow at Eren’s question. “I don’t know him well enough to say that,” he commented when they arrived to the kitchen area. Everything was made of wood and it looked like it was expensive wood at that. Levi placed his fingers on top of a kitchen aisle and smiled a little. This really was a house he could live in someday – or a house that was similar to this one. It was clean and warm colored. Everything he liked.

While Levi was occupied with the beauty of the kitchen, Eren raided the fridge. “So, Armin. What is happening in Oregon? I mean, what’s the case about?” he asked and placed the ingredients for tomato soup on the kitchen aisle.

Armin stared as Eren instructed Levi where everything was and the two of them were literally making food like an old couple. They didn’t bump into each other and almost danced around each other. He even forgot Eren’s question because he was just looking at them in awe. This never happened with him or Mikasa. There would be a war if Jean was cooking with Eren.

Mikasa cleared her throat. She definitely noticed that Armin wasn’t in this world anymore. “Last week Sophie Carlton, eighteen, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water; nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Odell drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago.”

Levi lifted his head to look at Mikasa. “Funeral?” he asked as he was dicing the onions into pan. He asked Eren to start stirring them until they were translucent. “With an empty coffin?”

Armin snapped out of his daze and nodded. “Right. They probably wanted some sort of closure and buried the empty coffin,” he said and pointed at Eren and Levi, still in wonder. “Do you guys have time to cook on your own while you’re on cases?”

Eren turned his head towards Armin because of his question. He then looked at Levi. “No, we have never cooked together anything. Why?”

Armin shook his head with a small smile. “Nothing. I was just wondering,” he murmured and went to sit down on one of the bar stools that were placed near the kitchen aisle. “It’s just… Weird how you two work together that easily.”

Mikasa covered her mouth with her hand. She had just realized it herself. Levi never even let anyone cook with him. And here they were, cooking together and instructing one another; Levi telling Eren what to add to the soup and Eren telling Levi where to find everything. She bit down her disappointment and decided to change the subject. “So, how are we going to share the rooms?”

Eren added the basil and parsley into the pot along with cream and stirred it gently. He was thinking about it in the car also. They were short on one room which would mean that Levi would probably have to share a room with him.

“Oh, you guys don’t know,” Armin suddenly piped up. “You know the old office next to you room, Eren? I made it into a guest room since it wasn’t being used as an office anymore. Levi can sleep there so you guys can have your original rooms.”

Levi concealed his disappointment. He had grown familiar with Eren’s steady breathing from the other side of the room. Maybe this would help Levi clear his head. Levi watched Eren set the table for everyone. It was almost something he could get used to.

“Levi expected a small cabin when he started driving towards a mountain,” Eren told Armin so that he could break the awkward silence that was starting form dangerously. He couldn’t stand the silence in this house. It was terrifying. “You should have seen his face.”

Armin laughed. “Eren. You almost fainted when you saw this place five years ago. Don’t blame Levi for his reaction. No one expects this, no one,” he said at the same moment Jean came to the kitchen with more relaxed posture.

Levi punched Eren’s shoulder gently and shot him an irritated look. “You should have told me something first,” he said and brought the pot to dining table. “You did it on purpose.”

After everyone had finished their meals, Eren decided to give Levi a tour around the house before they would settle in for the night. He dragged the man into Eren’s bedroom. “This is my favorite place,” Eren told when he opened the sliding glass doors to the balcony. Eren had the master bedroom since Armin didn’t want the balcony area at all.

Levi followed Eren outside, looking at the breathtaking view in front of them. He could also see that the quest room was connected to the balcony they were standing at. “I can see why,” he said quietly and leaned against the railing. It was so dark that Levi couldn’t see the river anymore but he could still hear it. “Are you okay?”

Eren took a place next to Levi and leaned also against the railing. “I hate it when everyone pretends nothing has happened,” he said quietly and stared at the cascade mountain in front of them. “I noticed the scratching marks. I just… followed your line of sight.”

Levi sighed quietly. He always forgot that Eren was sharper than he thought he was. “I think everyone thought you didn’t see it. I didn’t think you saw it either,” he said and took a cigarette from his pocket. “Is it okay to…?”

Eren waved his hand. “Yeah. I’ll get you an ashtray,” he said and walked inside the bedroom. Eren was gone for few minutes until he came back and placed the ashtray on the railing.

“You shouldn’t blame Arlert about what happened,” Levi said and took a small drag from his cancer stick. He flicked it gently with his finger. He almost looked feminine doing it, Eren decided. “He’s afraid of you,” Levi finished.

Eren’s eyes widened slightly. He was losing his words. He didn’t know what to say to Levi’s statement. Eren turned his back to the mountain and leaned his back against the railing. His eyes were getting warm and stingy again. “I did it unconsciously the moment I saw him coming down the stairs with Jean. I feel like I need someone I can blame for everything,” he murmured quietly. Eren hadn’t thought that it would shine through him so easily. He didn’t want Armin to feel like crap about it.

Levi scratched his chin gently, giving Eren a sidelong gaze from his spot. “I know you do. If you need someone, you could just blame me. I can take it,” he muttered. Armin was way too soft for Eren’s silent rage. “If I would’ve taken you to Oregon the day we met, you could’ve helped your father with Armin.”

“Don’t say that,” Eren rasped out with a weak voice. He could never blame Levi from anything. “You basically saved me from the Hook Man, you saved me from the Scarecrow guy and… You just did what I asked you to do. You brought me here and you let me keep hunting with you…”

Levi looked at the cigarette between his fingers and put it away with a small sigh. “You’re right. But I’m also right at this: Arlert tried his best to keep the hellhounds away from your father. There isn’t anything you can do once ten years is up, Eren. You should know it,” he said and placed the ashtray on a nearby table so that it wouldn’t accidentally drop down.

Eren stared at Levi for a while. He tried to hold down his tears but no matter what he did, Levi was starting to look a little bit blurry. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“You should tell that to Arlert,” Levi huffed and walked closer to Eren. He slapped his head gently. “Get some sleep.”

 

**The Bend HQ, Oregon, 30 th of July, 7:44AM**

Levi woke up to a sound of glass door sliding. He sat up on his bed and looked around blearily. Levi saw Eren waving at him from the balcony. “It’s too early, Eren,” he mumbled quietly and reached for his t-shirt.

Eren tiptoed carefully into the room. “Yeah, I know. But Sasha and Connie woke up already so I had to make breakfast for everyone. Sasha will eat your share if you don’t get up now,” Eren explained and flopped down on one of the comfortable chairs.

“Oh, so that explains why you are already awake,” Levi mumbled quietly and fixed his hair in front of a mirror. He pointed at the wooden door. “Why didn’t you use the hallway door?”

“Too formal.”

Levi snorted at Eren’s answer and looked at the slightly smiling face. “Are you feeling better?” he asked and wore black sweatpants. Eren followed Levi through the main door and the boy started to descend downstairs.

“I just got my special blend coffee so I do feel a lot better just because of that,” Eren answered. “Wrong way Levi. Just go straight,” he corrected Levi when he was about to turn right. “I also apologized to Armin so the tension has been lifted.”

Levi pointed a finger at Eren. “If coffee can make you feel better, I need to taste that,” he chuckled and entered the kitchen with Levi. Levi was met with a high pitched scream and uncontrollable laugh. “That Connie and Sasha?”

Eren nodded and pointed an empty seat next to his seat. “I’ll make you the coffee. Protect your plate,” he said and went to the coffee maker. “Sasha, you had your fill already.”

Levi took a seat next to Eren’s. He filled his plate with scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. It was a little bit too birtish-like for Levi’s taste but he could live with it. “Touch my food or you’ll die from my fork,” Levi warned when Sasha eyed his plate curiously.

Sasha made a face and decided to give up rather easily. Her survival instinct kicked in pretty quickly when she realized the deadly glare Levi was giving her. “I’m Connie and that’s Sasha. We helped you with your latest case,” Connie suddenly said so that Levi would drop his glaring.

“Levi,” the dark haired male grumbled and thanked Eren for the coffee that was presented in front of him. “What is today’s plan?” he asked and took a sip from the coffee. The flavor was rich and full. Maybe even a little bit sweet and it had a tinge of cinnamon to it.

Eren made an uncomfortable noise and tapped the kitchen aisle with his fingers. “I’m going to look over all the things Grisha brought here with him. I don’t think it will take long so I guess we could go down to the riverside. Or I’m going there anyways; you can come with me if you want to.”

Connie dropped his fork because of Eren’s words. _He is letting Levi join him at the river._ Connie quickly collected his composure when Levi gave him a puzzled look along with Eren. “Sorry, my fork slipped,” he mumbled and he immediately started whispering with Sasha.

Levi blinked and turned his eyes back towards Eren. “Right. I’d like to see the river anyways. Do you want me to help you with Grisha’s stuff?” he asked and quickly regretted asking. Eren looked like he could shoot right through Levi’s forehead. “Where are the others?”

Eren’s eyes softened the second Levi changed the topic. He wouldn’t need **help**. He could manage on his own just fine. “Jean and Armin are having the breakfast outside and Mikasa already left for the case,” Eren said and pointed at Connie and Sasha. “These two will leave for grocery shopping later today so if you need something, tell them.”

“We will take your order, sir!” Connie mock saluted Levi with a wide grin. “Armin and Jean are probably joining Mikasa later so the house is all yours. Don’t break it.”

Eren rolled his eyes and gave Connie thumbs up. “I’m pretty sure I know not to break things,” he said, cleaning up the dining table when Sasha and Connie got up from their seats and left the kitchen. Eren picked up Levi’s empty plate also and went to put everything into dishwasher. “Levi, I will be in Armin’s office with Grisha’s stuff if you need something. Just… Treat this place like your home. Do whatever you want to do. But don’t go take a walk into forest without someone else. You can easily get lost.”

Levi was surprised that Eren acted like a housewife. It was almost weird. No, it was definitely weird. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll take care of some reports I need to give Erwin. I’ll be at the living room then, I guess,” he murmured when Eren was already walking out of the kitchen. “Hey. You’re acting weird,” he commented before Eren could disappear from his line of sight.

Eren stopped at the door. He placed his hand on the door frame and leaned to it gently. “I just need some time alone. I’ll take you to the river with me later,” he said and then disappeared rather quickly.

Levi stared after Eren, deciding to buy that reason for now. He reached for a newspaper that was resting on a kitchen aisle. Levi was nurturing another coffee by the time Armin came to the kitchen with dishes. “Did… Who put everything into dishwasher?” Armin asked from behind the aisle.

Levi perked up at his question. “Eren. Why?” Levi murmured and took a sip from his coffee. It had all happened so naturally that Levi hadn’t even questioned it.

Armin scratched his head took a seat opposite of Levi. “Usually it’s me who cleans up after others,” Armin chuckled with a slight smile. So much had changed since Levi had interrupted Eren’s normal life… as normal as you could call it. “He has matured a lot since the last saw him I guess.”

Levi stared at Armin. He somehow wanted to know more about Eren. This would be a good chance, right? Levi took a longer gulp from his coffee. “Really? What was he like before?”

“Well if I think really back, when we first met, he was so damn crazy. He just did and never thought of the consequences. Eren was a dangerous hunter, if you could say that,” Armin said with a thoughtful face. “He started to calm down a little when we took Jean in. Eren basically taught Jean everything so I guess that made him cool down a little and think. I don’t what Eren was like as a kid. Only Grisha knows and well…” he murmured with a sad face. “I’m afraid Eren will do something stupid.”

Levi closed his eyes for few seconds. He had had the same thought. “Has he done something extremely stupid before?” Levi asked and turned a page of his newspaper.

Armin pointed at a wall of pictures. “See that trio over there? They were our top three hunters: Bertolt Hoover, Reiner Braun and Annie Leonhardt. Eren and the power trio were on a same case four years ago and they just disappeared. Eren couldn’t find them no matter how hard he looked. It was as if they were kidnapped, possessed, we still don’t know. They had left all their belongings behind and we haven’t heard from them since…” Armin hesitated if he should tell more. “Eren… Eren went to meet the crossroad demon, and tried to make a deal with him. It was a good thing that the demon didn’t want to make a deal with Eren.”

“He didn’t want to make a deal with Eren?” Levi asked incredulously. “I’ve never heard of a demon that doesn’t seal the deal.”

Armin shrugged his shoulders. “Me neither. But I’m sure Eren spoke the truth. He was so angry when he came back to us,” he explained to Levi and let out a deep sigh. “I shouldn’t probably talk to you about these things so… What is said in here stays in here, okay?”

“Cross my heart and all that jazz,” Levi huffed. Eren was so secretive about some things that he was just dying to know more. “He acted strange before he left the kitchen.”

Armin gave Levi a sympathetic look. It reminded Levi of Erwin’s look. It nearly pissed him off. “Just leave him alone. He’ll come to you when he’s ready. It was the same when that crossroad demon thing happened. He was shut down for days. Eren will come around it eventually,” Armin explained in relaxed tone. “This is his home after all. He can think about himself here.”

Levi tried not to grit his teeth. Eren didn’t even consider this place a home. He remembered their conversation quite well. “Right. You’re right,” he said and got up from the table. “I need to do some reports for Erwin.”

Armin got up as well, nodding. “Oh, yeah. I should probably go with Jean if we want to catch up with Mikasa,” he said and walked out of the kitchen with Levi. “Just… Don’t bother Eren until he is done. It’s best for all of us.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “I think I got it the first time. Thanks for the warning anyways,” he sighed and walked Armin to the lobby. “Tell Mikasa not to screw up for me.”

Armin laughed and slipped on his sneakers. “Have a nice day.”

 

**The Bend HQ, Oregon, 1:01PM**

Eren sat on Armin’s office chair and read all the reports about his mother. He also collected a nice pile of other possible cases he could start investigating. They were pretty old cases already but he could finish what his father didn’t. Eren glanced at the clock on the wall. He should probably go to Levi. Eren gnawed his lower lip and looked over Grisha’s wallet that carried his photo. He buried his head into his hands. Eren felt like crying but no tears came out. He sensed a presence at the door and gave a weak and dry laugh. “Have you ever wanted to cry but no tears come out so you just stare blankly into space and feel your heart break in pieces?”

Levi had just decided to come upstairs and ask Eren if he wanted something to drink or eat. He definitely didn’t expect the brunet to open his heart to him just like that. Levi took that as an invite and walked next to Eren. “Take a break,” he said and lifted Eren’s face with his fingers. “Let’s go get fresh air.”

“Yeah,” Eren murmured and threw the wallet in one small cardboard box. “Let’s go to the river,” he got up from the chair and walked Levi out of the office. “Everyone gone already?” Eren asked when he didn’t hear anything except their soft footsteps.

“Connie and Sasha left half an hour ago. Armin left around ten o’clock,” Levi answered. He saw Eren grabbing the house keys from a basket near the front door. Levi opened the door to Eren and both boys walked outside. It was warm and the sky was nearly empty off clouds. “This place is so much better than the shitty Dakota…” he commented to Eren who only laughed quietly.

“I guess we have our own peace here,” Eren said and started leading Levi towards a small trail in the forest. “Come on,” he chuckled and took hold of Levi’s hand. “Your hands are cold.”

Levi glanced at their entwined hands. “When I work on a computer, my hands get cold,” he said and tried to wriggle his hand away from Eren’s grasp. “I’m not a kid who will get lost if I follow you.”

Eren smiled a little. “I know. I just felt like holding your hand,” Eren said shrugging his shoulders.

The trip down to the river was rather quiet. Levi didn’t mind the silence and neither did Eren. They were both pretty content with the silence. When they finally reached the river, Levi almost forgot how to breathe. It was so blue and so clear. He felt Eren’s hand loosen from his and he walked closer towards the river.

“It’s Deschutes River,” Eren told and stayed a little bit farther away from Levi. He picked up few rocks from the ground. “I usually come here alone to clear my mind. It’s like my safe haven. I’ve never brought anyone else here with me,” he explained quietly and looked at the white, round rock in his hands. The surface of it was smooth. “It flows north, which is unusual in the States,” Eren changed topic when Levi shot him a surprised glance. “A little bit from here starts the rapid area,” he kept telling and skipped to stones that were in the middle of the river. “You can hear it at night.”

Levi felt warm and fuzzy inside. It was truly a weird emotion. Eren had taken him here with him. It was like Levi was his first everything and it made Levi happy. It was happiness. “Yeah, I heard it last night,” he told Eren and followed Eren carefully. They both stopped on one bigger rock where they both could stand comfortably. They both looked forwards where the river was flowing. “This place probably pretty in autumn.”

Eren blinked sheepishly at Levi’s statement and nodded. “Yeah. It’s when this place lights up in thousands of colors. It’s just kind of cold here, you know?” he laughed. “No one even comes down to the river that often. I don’t know, somehow this riverside…”

“Is your home, right?” Levi finished. “It’s not the house; it’s not even the country or the people. It’s this riverside.”

Eren turned to look at Levi’s face that was inches away from him. “It didn’t feel home until now,” he chuckled and avoided having a direct eye contact with Levi.

Levi was sure Eren’s cheeks started to warm up considerably after that line. Oh. Now he realized it. “Hey,” Levi said and pulled Eren down to his level. “It’s good that you found your home,” he said and placed his hand on top of Eren’s heart. Levi then gently pecked Eren’s lips, waiting for Eren to man up and kiss him back. When he felt Eren pressing to his lips a little bit harder, Levi wrapped his arms around Eren’s neck. Even if Eren’s teeth clashed against him few times, it was good. Everything was so good.

Suddenly both boys were startled by a cow-like voice from behind them and Eren pulled them both into the river. Levi was first at the surface and Eren soon followed him. They stared at a moose that was standing at the shore. “I’m going to kill that shitty bitch.”

Eren giggled and dragged Levi towards the opposite shore with him. “Come on. We are on his territory. Let’s get changed before someone comes home.”

 

**The Bend HQ, Oregon, 6:12PM**

Levi knocked on Eren’s door before entering with two mugs of tea. Eren was lying on his bed and the whole bed was covered in reports, cases and diaries. “Is this all Grisha’s?” he asked when he handed the mug to Eren.

Eren hummed in acknowledgment before sitting up and grabbing the mug, “Yeah. These diaries and reports are too new. I don’t know why he decided to make a deal with the crossroad demon,” he sighed in defeat. Eren watched as Levi started to pile the papers neatly onto Eren’s desk. “I can clean up, you don’t have to.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “I’m already doing it. Besides I can’t stand this mess even if it’s you,” he mumbled behind his tea mug. “Armin came home ten minutes ago with Jean and Mikasa,” Levi changed the subject after the bed was clear of papers and diaries. He sat next to Eren comfortably. “They are making dinner downstairs.”

“You should stay in upstairs then. They always make a huge mess,” Eren said and took off Levi’s glasses. “Were you working?” he asked when he placed the glasses between them.

Levi nodded. “I had a lot of reports to do. I need to keep Erwin updated about everything,” he sighed and sipped his tea. Armin had a nice blend of tea.

Eren stared Levi for a long time. “About what happened at the river…” he murmured quietly and wrapped his both hands around the warm mug. “It was nice,” he mumbled quietly, cheeks heating up in seconds. “Unlike the first time it felt more… natural I guess.”

Levi was surprised so many times today. How many more surprises his heart could take, Levi didn’t know answer to that. “Don’t push yourself,” he ended up saying and gave Eren a very, very small smile. “If it happens, it happens. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you should jump into a relationship because of one kiss.”

Eren hid a slight disappointment from his face. “So…” Eren stumbled with his words. This situation had suddenly taken a turn towards the awkward. “You didn’t feel anything? Like a spark or anything?”

Levi nearly choked on his tea. “What are you talking about?” he sputtered and cleared his throat. “I never said I didn’t,” Levi corrected when Eren made a face of kicked puppy. “I just don’t want you to think about it. It’s… You’re grieving so it’s normal to seek comfort from other people,” he tried to explain but when Eren made even sadder face, Levi groaned. Of course. Eren was almost like a kid. “Look. Have you ever had a crush on someone?”

Eren pouted and went to open the glass doors for the fresh air. “Yeah, I have had a crush on someone before. Her name was Annie,” he explained and turned to look at Levi. “I recognize the feeling, I’m not that dumb. I don’t know how to explain it but… With her around it was like butterflies in the stomach but… At first it was pure irritation when you did something stupid. Now it’s like warmth. I don’t feel nervous; it’s just feels right and comfortable.”

Levi’s eyes softened when Eren tried to explain his feelings. It was so adorable. “I liked your hissing at the bride suite.”

Eren blushed and threw a cushion at Levi. “That is not the point here,” he groaned at Levi who was just smirking at him. “Are you even taking this seriously?” he asked and sat back next to Levi. “I just wanted to talk about our feelimmppffh,” Eren mumbled the rest. Levi was already on his lips. Eren rolled his eyes and pushed Levi away gently. “You’re such an asshole,” he crinkled his nose and sighed.

“I don’t talk about lovey dovey stuff. I’d rather do than speak. What time is it?”

“6:45.”

“Oh.”

Eren grinned a little and downed his tea. “Are you perhaps hungry?” he asked and placed the mug on his nightstand. “I can’t help you with that.”

Levi made a face at Eren. He opened Eren’s desk drawer. “It’s easy for you to say because you hide snacks all over the place,” he said and pointed at the drawer’s contents: candies, potato chips, more candies and some other various snacks. “I’m amazed you’re not fat with all the junk you eat.”

Eren pulled his shirt up and stared at his stomach. Well, it was soft. It wasn’t defined like Levi’s. “You probably like it soft then,” he grinned and got up from the bed. “Do you want my snacks?” Eren asked and examined the contents with a thoughtful look. Everything was still edible.

“No, I don’t want your junk food,” Levi said and set his mug on the table. “Lay down with me for few minutes.”

Eren sighed and settled next to Levi. He placed his head onto Levi’s chest and closed his eyes. “Is it going to be just few minutes?”

“Yeah. Just few minutes,” Levi mumbled.

One hour later Jean and Armin were knocking at Eren’s door. When they heard no answer, Jean carefully cracked the door open. The boys peeked inside and stopped at their tracks when they saw Eren and Levi sleeping together in the bed. “Should we wake them up?” Jean whispered quietly to Armin.

Armin shook his head and quickly closed the door. “Let’s just put the some of the food in containers with a note. They can eat if they wake up before morning,” he whispered even though the door was already closed. “I don’t think they want to be found in that situation.”

 

**To be continued.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is far from over. I'm giving you some warning here. Shit is about to go down and hard.


End file.
